UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


hfHKARY 


The  Find  Yourself  Idea 


A  Friendly  Method  of  Vocational 
Guidance  for  Older  Boys 

For  the  Use  of 
Adult  Leaders 

Clarence  C.  Robinson 

Secretary  for  Employed  Boys 

InternatioDal  Committee  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Assoemtions 

Author  of  "The  Wage  Earning  Boy" 

"Christian  Teaching  on  Social  Questions,"  etc.. 


ASSOCIATION  PRESS 

New  YORK:  347  Madison  Avenue. 

1922 


148561 


Copyright,  1922,  "by 

The  International  Committee  of 

Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


HP 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

Foreword      ..... 

Introduction  .... 

I,     The  Problem  of  Vocational  Choice  . 

II.     The    Vocational-Guidance    Movement — A 

Summary  .... 

III.  The    Find    Yourself    Idea— A    Friendly 

Method 

IV.  Analyzing  the  Boy's  Blank    . 
V.     The  Place  and  Art  of  Interviewing  . 

VI.     Organization    and    Scheduled    Appoint 

ments  of  a  Campaign 
VII.     Application  to  Special  Groups  of  Boys 
VIII.     Helping  to  Discover  a  Boy's  Vocational 
Tendency  .... 

IX.     The  Christian  Attitude  in  All  Callings 
X.     Importance  of  the  Follow-Up 
XI.     By-Products  and  Helps 


PAGE 
V 

vii 
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8 
18 
26 

41 
62 

89 
107 
114 
124 


FOREWORD 

This  little  book  is  not  an  ambitious  volume.  Its  very 
size  precludes  any  adequate  treatment  of  the  growing 
but  distinctly  incomplete  science  of  vocational  guidance. 
It  merely  aims  to  be  a  brief  statement  of  the  purposes 
and  practicability  of  vocational  guidance  with  sugges- 
tions for  making  such  work  effective  among  older  boys. 
It  includes  instructions  for  the  use  of  self-analysis  blanks, 
the  selection  and  coaching  of  interviewers,  and  a  particu- 
lar emphasis  upon  the  character-building  values  of  such 
service  with  boys.  It  sets  forth  from  the  experience  of 
many  workers,  particularly  in  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  a  vocational  effort  so  planned  as  to 
bring  to  bear  on  the  humblest  boy  in  town  the  best 
counsel  and  advice  which  the  community  affords.  The 
quiet  hand-to-hand  efforts  and  the  larger  Find  Yourself 
Campaigns  have  been  based  on  the  concept  that  there 
lies  buried  in  society  much  high-grade  talent  that  is  never 
discovered,  that  much  of  the  drifting  in  business  and 
industry  is  caused  by  unwise  selection,  and  that,  given  a 
certain  amount  of  information  and  courage  from  skilled 
men  in  the  community,  a  boy  himself  can  make  in  this 
enlightened  day,  if  he  will,  a  reasonably  scientific  selec- 
tion of  his  life  work. 

Among  those  who  have  helped  in  the  preparation  of 
this  volume  and  whose  experience  in  dealing  with  older 
boys  has  made  its  publication  possible,  are :  H.  T.  Baker, 
A.  N.  Cotton,  L.  W.  Dunn,  A.  J.  Gregg,  Secretaries  of  the 
International  Committee  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations; Dr.  C.  J.  Carver,  Dickinson  College;  Jesse  B. 
Davis,  Supervisor  of  Secondary  Education  for  the  State 


vi  THE  FIND  YOUESELF  IDEA 

of  Connecticut;  E.  C.  Foster,  City  Secretary  for  Boys, 
New  York;  Dr.  Percy  B.  Wightman,  Pastor,  University 
Heights  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York. 

Clarence  C.  Robinson. 
New  York, 

November,  1921. 


INTEODUCTION 

"The  true  teacher  finds  his  crowning  opportunity  in 
revealing  to  his  students  some  appealing  career,  some 
compelling  purpose  which  shall  be  to  them  what  teaching 
is  to  him." — Anon. 

If  this  quotation  is  true  of  the  teacher  it  is  equally- 
true  of  every  counselor  of  youth.  There  is  no  greater 
service  which  one  man  may  render  to  a  younger  man  than 
to  help  him  to  ' '  find  himself, ' '  to  open  his  eyes  to  see  the 
great  needs  of  the  world  for  service,  and  to  help  him  to 
answer  for  himself  the  question,  "How  can  I,  such  as  I 
am  in  ability,  health,  character,  and  opportunity,  find 
my  best  place  for  service  and  use  that  place  for  my  own 
betterment  and  that  of  humanity  ? ' ' 

Vocational  guidance  is  a  much  misunderstood  and  mis- 
used term.  This  volume  will  do  much  to  clarify  the 
minds  of  those  who  have  been  misled  by  those  who  would 
commercialize  a  great  ideal.  The  "Find  Yourself  Idea" 
as  worked  out  by  the  Young  Men 's  Christian  Association 
is  the  result  of  a  number  of  years  of  experimenting  that 
has  now  resulted  in  a  plan  which  is  rational  and  prac- 
tical. Too  much  by  way  of  immediate  results  should  not 
be  expected  of  any  effort  to  guide  youth  toward  a  life- 
career  decision.  The  final  choice  or  decision  may  be 
delayed  until  more  information  and  experience  enter 
into  the  problem,  but  some  immediate  steps  must  be  taken 
in  the  light  of  the  possible  future  field  of  service.  This 
next  step  to  be  taken  now  is  the  most  important  decision 
requiring  the  help  of  a  wise  counselor. 

The  man  who  assumes  so  great  a  responsibility  as  that 
of  guiding  a  youth  in  making  so  important  a  life  decision 


viii  THE  FIND  YOUESELF  IDEA 

needs  to  realize  the  dangers  of  his  task  as  well  as  the 
opportunities  of  giving  counsel.  This  volume  will  serve 
as  a  valuable  book  of  methods  for  counselors.  Mr.  C.  C. 
Robinson  is  a  careful  and  thorough  student  of  all  phases 
of  boyhood  and  young  manhood.  He  has  had  an  unusual 
opportunity  to  work  out  and  develop  the  plan  which  he 
has  described.  Every  counselor  should  study  this  volume 
most  earnestly  before  he  undertakes  the  task  of  guiding 
young  men  toward  lives  of  service. 

Jesse  B.  Davis, 
Supervisor  of  Secondary  Education 
for  the  State  of  Connecticut. 


Chapter  I 
THE  PEOBLEM  OF  VOCATIONAL  CHOICE 

It  may  be  proper  at  the  outset  to  ask  ourselves  a  few 
questions.  What  is  vocational  guidance — something  new 
or  something  old  in  new  guise  ?  Of  how  much  value  is  it  ? 
What  is  its  purpose  ?  What  are  its  underlying  principles 
and  how  may  they  be  wisely  applied?  Does  it  require 
an  expert  to  do  such  work  as  it  ought  to  be  done?  At 
what  age  shall  we  begin?  Are  there  any  dangers,  and 
if  so,  how  may  they  be  avoided  ?  By  it,  just  what  may  we 
reasonably  expect  to  accomplish? 

Increasing  interest  in  every  quarter  demands  that 
something  be  done  to  aid  those  leaders  who  are  especially 
interested  in  the  possibilities  of  vocational  guidance, 
particularly  with  reference  to  the  character-building 
values  inherent  therein,  and  who  are  earnestly  seeking 
whatever  light  can  be  obtained,  touching  a  matter  so  vital 
to  human  life  and  achievement.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this 
volume  to  suggest  answers  to  each  of  these  questions,  or 
to  direct  attention  to  sources  where  answers  to  them  may 
be  found.  The  lives  of  many  thousands  of  boys  are  inti- 
mately bound  up  with  our  inquiry :  hence  our  obligation 
to  acquaint  ourselves  as  fully  as  possible  with  what  is 
being  done  in  this  field. 

Definition. 

A  definition  of  vocation  may  be  of  service.  Dean  Bal- 
liet  says :  "  A  man 's  vocation  is  not  merely  his  means  of 
securing  a  livelihood,  but  it  is  his  most  effective  means  of 


2  THE  FIND  YOUESELF  IDEA 

rendering  to  society  the  life  service  which  every  man 
owes  to  his  kind.  It  is  his  chief  means  of  realizing  his 
life,  its  aims,  its  ambitions,  and  its  duties. ' '  Literally, 
vocation  means  calling;  hence  the  purpose  of  vocational 
guidance  is  to  help  the  individual  discover  what  his  par- 
ticular call  is — the  channel  he  should  utilize  through 
which  to  find  self-expression  and  to  render  his  best  ser- 
vice to  society.  Another  educator  says:  "A  vocational 
guide  is  one  who  helps  other  people  find  themselves. 
Vocational  guidance  is  the  science  of  this  self-discovery. ' ' 

The  Purpose — Self-Discovery. 

Thus  two  very  important  points  are  indicated.  First, 
the  aim  of  vocational  guidance  is  self-discovery;  and 
second,  its  method  is  scientific. 

In  some  quarters  there  has  been,  and  still  is,  a  notion 
that  vocational  guidance  is  closely  analogous  to  the  diag- 
nosis work  of  a  skilled  physician,  who  looks  you  over  and 
decides  whether  you  have  neurasthenia  or  measles.  In 
the  more  conscientious  type  of  vocational  counseling,  the 
boy's  part  is  not  a  passive  one.  Others  can  give  infor- 
mation, inspire,  and  offer  friendly  counsel,  but  through- 
out the  process  the  boy  must  be  active  and  his  is  the  final 
decision.  Any  other  procedure  assumes  infallibility  on 
the  part  of  the  counselor.  The  resulting  vocational  deci- 
sion is  a  matter  between  the  boy  and  God  alone.  It 
should  be  made,  however,  in  the  light  of  evidence  as  to 
fitness,  interest,  world  need,  the  advice  and  friendly 
counsel  of  parents,  pastor,  teachers,  and  friends,  oppor- 
tunities for  self-development,  self-expression,  and  worthy 
service. 

A  Scientific  Method. 

Vocational  guidance  is  not  yet  a  science,  but  it  is  scien- 
tific, in  that  it  seeks,  not  by  aimless  drifting  or  any 
chance  hit-or-miss  method,  but  by  painstaking  observa- 


THE  PKOBLEM  OF  VOCATIONAL  CHOICE      3 

tion,  analysis,  and  testing,  to  help  one  to  discover  just 
that  particular  form  of  life  work  which  promises  most  to 
insure  for  that  individual  the  values  of  life. 

By  particular  form  it  is  not  intended  that  because  he 
is  dealing  with  a  science,  the  vocational  guide  or  coun- 
selor can  in  a  given  case  help  the  boy  quickly  to  ascertain 
whether,  if  adapted  to  salesmanship,  he  should  sell  insur- 
ance, pottery,  or  hairpins.  Therein  his  task  differs  from 
such  an  exact  science  as  astronomy,  which  calculates  to 
the  very  minute  and  second  the  occurrence  of  such  a 
phenomenon  as  an  eclipse.  In  vocational  guidance, 
rather,  the  first  thing  and  the  big  thing  is  to  help  the  boy 
ascertain  scientifically  his  vocational  tendencies.  Having 
gotten  safely  past  this  point,  he  may  be  expected  to 
eventually  discover  for  himself  with  relatively  little  diffi- 
culty the  particular  phase  of  life  work  he  is  best  fitted  to 
perform.  But  we  shall  have  more  of  this  in  a  later 
section. 

Two  quotations  will  help  to  summarize,  one  a  bulletin 
of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  the  other  from 
Professor  Spaulding,  of  the  Yale  School  of  Education. 

''It  is  not  the  purpose  of  vocational  guidance  to 
decide  for  young  people  in  advance  what  occupation 
they  should  follow,  nor  to  project  them  into  life's 
work  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  nor  to  classify 
them  prematurely  by  any  system  of  analysis,  either 
psychological,  physiological,  social,  or  economic. 
Vocational  guidance  should  be  a  continued  process 
to  help  the  individual  to  choose,  to  plan  his  prepara- 
tion for,  to  enter  upon,  and  to  make  progress  in  an 
occupation." 

' '  Vocational  guidance  seeks  the  largest  realization 
of  the  possibilities  of  every  child  and  youth  meas- 
ured in  terms  of  worthy  service. ' ' 

A  Necessary  Distinction. 

There  are  three  terms  constantly  used  in  this  connec- 


4  THE  FIND  YOUESELF  IDEA 

tion  between  which  careful  distinction  should  be  made. 
These  terms  are  vocational  information,  vocational  edu- 
cation, and  vocational  guidance.  By  vocational  informa- 
tion we  mean  facts  regarding  specific  occupations,  such 
as  farming,  or  engineering,  or  teaching — with  statements 
as  to  qualifications  deemed  essential  or  desirable,  hours, 
pay,  healthfulness,  opportunities  for  advancement,  etc. 
By  vocational  education  we  mean  courses  of  training  to 
fit  one  for  a  given  trade  or  employment.  Vocational 
guidance  has  been  defined  in  the  preceding  paragraph, 
and  by  the  definition  there  given  it  will  be  seen  to  be 
more  than  mere  finding  of  employment  for  boys  desiring 
to  quit  school  by  reason  of  age  or  necessity  or  other 
causes.  It  is  more  than  just  furnishing  information  to  a 
boy  as  to  what  conditions  he  may  expect  to  find  in  a  given 
industry  or  job.  It  is  more  than  merely  giving  him 
instruction  in  salesmanship  or  printing  or  engraving. 
Vocational  guidance  describes  rather  a  process  which 
takes  into  account  a  knowledge  of  one 's  self  as  well  as  a 
knowledge  of  types  of  work.  It  includes  counseling  with 
reference  to  a  boy's  adaptability  to  certain  occupations 
and  the  relative  value  of  these  occupations  to  society. 
It  also  brings  the  boy  into  touch  with  particular  informa- 
tion regarding,  or  specific  training  for,  a  given  form  of 
life  work.  It  also  provides  rare  opportunity  for  empha- 
sizing character  development. 


Chapter  II 

THE  VOCATIONAL-GUIDANCE  MOVEMENT 

Historically,  the  movement — for  such  it  is  called — is 
comparatively  new ;  for  although  the  idea  for  which  voca- 
tional guidance  stands  is  as  old  as  society  itself,  the  term 
as  it  is  known  today  dates  back  little  more  than  a  decade. 
Its  beginnings  were  in  1908,  when  Professor  Frank  Par- 
sons, after  considerable  work  in  the  Boston  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
established  the  Boston  Vocation  Bureau.  This  Bureau 
grew  out  of  a  conception  which  Professor  Parsons  himself 
voiced  in  these  words : 

"In  this  plastic  period  of  rapid  growth,  this  age 
of  brain  and  heart,  society  should  guarantee  to  every 
child  a  thorough  all-round  development  of  body, 
mind,  and  character,  and  a  careful  planning  of  and 
adequate  preparation  for  some  occupation,  for 
which,  in  the  light  of  scientific  testing  and  experi- 
ment, the  youth  seems  best  adapted,  or  as  well 
adapted  as  to  any  other  calling  which  is  reasonably 
available.  If  this  vital  period  is  allowed  to  pass 
without  the  broad  development  and  special  training 
that  belong  to  it,  no  amount  of  education  in  after 
years  can  ever  redeem  the  loss.  Not  till  society  wakes 
up  to  its  responsibility  and  its  privileges  in  this 
relation  shall  we  be  able  to  harvest  more  than  a  frac- 
tion of  our  human  resources,  or  develop  and  utilize 
the  genius  and  ability  that  are  latent  in  each  new 
generation. ' ' 

Much  attention  was  given  to  investigation  of  occupa- 
tions,  and  pamphlets  of  vocational   information  were 


6  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

printed.    Personal  interviews  with  applicants  also  played 
an  important  and  central  part  in  their  work. 

Organization. 

The  idea  spread,  organized  developments  appearing 
in  the  public  school  system  of  Boston  and  environs.  In 
1910  came  the  first  National  Conference  on  Vocational 
Guidance,  at  Boston,  followed  by  similar  conferences  in 
other  cities  in  1912  and  1913.  Then  came  the  National 
Vocational  Guidance  Association,  beginning  in  1914  and 
continuing  to  the  present,  with  indications  of  greatly 
increased  activity  for  the  days  immediately  ahead.  The 
present  plan  calls  for  local  Vocational  Guidance  Associa- 
tions in  various  regions  of  the  United  States  and  a  Na- 
tional Association  federating  the  local  units. 

Almost  simultaneously  with  the  Boston  work,  initial 
work  was  begun  by  1909  with  high-school  boys  and  girls 
in  New  York  City  under  the  direction  of  Professor  E.  W. 
"Weaver,  now  participating  in  the  vocational-guidance 
work  of  the  United  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Schools  and  teaching  at 
Columbia  University.  Still  another  pioneer  was  Jesse  B. 
Davis,  who  began  in  early  years  to  work  out  a  plan  of 
vocational  guidance  through  the  teaching  of  English 
composition  and  through  a  system  of  faculty  counselors 
in  the  Central  High  School  at  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan. 

As  the  work  has  developed,  the  attention  and  interest 
of  other  groups  have  been  directed  toward  the  move- 
ment. Among  these  should  be  mentioned  the  National 
Education  Association,  the  National  Society  for  the  Pro- 
motion of  Industrial  Education,  the  National  Conference 
of  Employment  Managers,  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor,  the  Young  Men's  and  Young  "Women's  Christian 
Associations. 

One  effort  which  gave  promise  of  reaching  more  boys 
and  girls  of  the  needier  classes  than  perhaps  any  other 
thus  far  in  the  history  of  vocational  guidance  in  this 


THE  VOCATIONAL-GUIDANCE  MOVEMENT  7 

country,  was  that  connected  with  the  Government  em- 
ployment agencies  during  the  latter  part  of  the  war. 
When  those  employment  agencies  in  all  the  leading  cities 
of  the  land  were  beginning  to  function,  it  was  suggested 
by  a  group  of  those  interested  in  the  better  direction  of 
the  lives  of  working  boys  and  girls,  that  junior  super- 
visors be  placed  in  all  the  larger  Government  agencies. 
These  special  attaches  of  each  office  were  to  be  so  selected 
as  to  represent  the  proper  training  and  ability  to  deal 
with  young  minds,  making  possible  not  only  more  intelli- 
gent placement,  but  actually  putting  vocational  guidance 
into  play  in  these  agencies  through  which  thousands  of 
boys  and  girls  were  then  passing. 

Mr.  Davis  was  a  primary  mover  in  this  effort  and  was 
for  a  time  connected  with  the  Government  as  Chief  of  the 
Junior  Section  of  the  United  States  Employment  Service. 
Associated  with  him  was  Mrs.  Anna  Y.  Reed  of  Seattle. 
These  beginnings  gave  such  hopeful  promise  that  the 
failure  of  Congress  to  pass  the  necessary  appropriation 
for  the  continuance  of  these  agencies,  is  a  tragic  story  in 
vocational  guidance  history. 

Other  Agencies  Interested. 

And  now  the  state  departments  of  education,  colleges, 
public  high  schools,  the  church,  and  various  welfare 
agencies  are  not  only  giving  thought,  but  devoting  in- 
creasing activity  to  this  great  task.  It  is  in  these  latter 
fields  of  activity  that  we  may  confidently  hope  to  focus 
attention  upon  the  character-building  values  involved — 
a  matter  which  has  perhaps  not  received  the  emphasis 
some  would  like  to  see  it  eventually  have.  It  is  not  im- 
possible that  organizations  like  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  which  has  worked  on  this  problem  for 
sc'^'eral  years,  can  make  a  very  real  and  substantial 
contribution  to  the  whole  movement  at  this  point. 


Chapter  III 
A  FRIENDLY  METHOD 

The  form  of  vocational  guidance  as  developed  in  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  through  the  Find 
Yourself  Campaign,  the  Christian  Callings  work,  and 
somewhat  in  High  School  Campaigns,  has  been  described 
as  a  friendly  method.  This  term  has  not  been  without 
justification  for  we  have  worked  as  a  friend  does  in  such 
matters,  not  assuming  to  be  experts  but  utilizing  freely 
the  best  scientific  ways  and  means  which  we  could  dis- 
cover. 

The  method  is  friendly  again  because  we  have  been 
willing  to  take  every  boy  who  comes,  not  merely  looking 
for  those  star  performers,  who  in  their  careers  would  do 
us  credit  for  having  helped  them  in  their  struggling 
years,  but  also  for  the  reason  that  boys  of  the  one  talent 
variety  have  received,  in  this  method,  patient  and  gener- 
ous attention. 

In  the  third  place,  this  method  is  friendly  because  it  is 
sympathetic  in  its  approach.  It  has  not  been  a  cold 
analysis  of  what  the  boy  showed  at  the  moment  in  ability, 
but  that  warm  and  sympathetic  approach  to  the  boy's 
life  which  did  not  blame  him  for  lacking  certain  qualities 
that  would  make  for  success.  Rather  the  boy  found  him- 
self being  kindly  met  and  helped  in  his  own  efforts  to 
discover  what  heredity  had  placed  in  him  and  how  he 
could  make  good,  both  in  wage  earning  and  in  service, 
with  his  present  and  possible  stock  of  abilities. 

Sociologically,  this  has  been  a  friendly  method  because, 
in  community  after  community,  the  best  brains  of  the 


A  FEIENDLY  METHOD  9 

city  or  county  have  been  brought  together  to  bear  on  the 
case  of  the  individual  boy,  giving  promise  of  the  day 
when  the  strong  shall  no  longer  glory  in  their  strength 
because  of  the  distinctions  which  it  makes  in  society,  but 
where  those  who  have  been  either  fortunately  endowed  or 
happily  surrounded  in  life,  are  glad  to  give  of  their 
knowledge  and  experience  to  guiding  the  youth  in  the 
matter  of  his  life  career. 

Finally,  this  type  of  vocational  guidance  is  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  use  of  the  Christian  worker  with  boys, 
first  because  it  is  designed  to  aid  those  workers  who  can 
give  a  little  time  to  such  matters  but  cannot  make  voca- 
tional guidance  their  principal  activity.  And  second, 
because  it  fits  in  admirably  with  the  admittedly  success- 
ful personal-interview  method  in  Christian  work. 

Although  the  boys  will  be,  naturally,  of  varying  faiths, 
they  are  all  interested  in  their  future,  and  the  vocational 
approach  opens  the  way  to  be  of  practical  help  in  the 
fundamental  decision  of  life  work.  It  leads  readily  also 
to  logically  helping  the  boy  face  great  moral  and  religious 
questions.  This  can  be  done  without  proselyting.  It  is 
not  as  difficult  as  many  think  to  help  a  boy  make  the 
proper  connection  between  attaining  a  really  worth-while 
success  in  a  given  vocation,  and  understanding  the  char- 
acter basis  necessary  for  his  life  work,  if  that  service  is 
to  do  the  world  good  rather  than  harm.  Both  socially 
and  individually,  this  is  distinctly  a  friendly  Christian 
method.  This  friendly  method  has  consisted  of  various 
elements,  chiefly  the  following : 

1.     The  Giving  of  Information. 

Many  busy  workers  have  desired  to  place  an  analysis 
blank  in  a  boy's  hand,  have  him  fill  it  out  and  turn  it  in 
at  once  to  an  interviewer.  This  is  a  dangerous  short  cut. 
Our  experience  would  indicate  that  the  boy  should  have 
at  least  one  presentation  of  the  general  principles  con- 


10  THE  FIND  YOUKSELF  IDEA 

nected  with  the  finding  of  one's  life  work  before  he  begins 
such  an  important  process  as  self -analysis.  Some  of  this 
information  should  be  of  the  kind  which  shows  the  boy- 
visions  of  the  possibilities  before  him,  inspiring  him  to 
rise  up  and  discover  what  God  really  intended  him  to  be 
and  do. 

Talks  before  county  work  groups,  addresses  at  high- 
school  assemblies,  Employed  Boys'  Brotherhoods,  and 
Hi-Y  Clubs  furnish  opportunities  to  place  before  boys 
both  the  practical  and  the  moral  and  ethical  aspects  of 
vocational  choice  and  preparation.  Somewhere  in  the 
informational  phase,  either  in  address  or  interview,  the 
religious  aspect  should  be  presented,  that  is,  the  will  of 
God  for  one's  life  work.  It  should  of  course  be  made 
plain  to  boys  and  leaders  that  there  is  nothing  incompati- 
ble between  using  all  the  scientific  methods  which  are 
known  to  be  practical,  and  this  seeking  of  God's  will. 
Analysis  and  interviews  are  merely  means  of  discovering 
what  God  has  placed  in  a  boy,  how  those  capacities  have 
been  developed  by  circumstances,  and  how  the  boy  has 
already  and  may  more  fully  utilize  those  gifts  of  God  for 
self-support  and  service. 

The  boy  does  not  need  to  have  detailed  information 
about  hundreds  of  vocations  but  it  is  of  great  value  for 
him  to  have  well  in  mind  these  broader  principles  at  the 
start. 

2.     The  Principle  of  Self-Analysis. 

There  are  at  least  two  reasons  for  having  the  boy 
analyze  himself.  If  no  immediately  usable  material  for 
vocational  selection  were  to  be  discovered  in  such  an 
analysis,  the  whole  effort  would  be  worth  while  by  reason 
of  its  reaction  on  the  boy  himself.  You  have  presented 
to  him  broad  general  principles  with  reference  to  the 
choice  of  a  life  work.  You  have  discussed  before  him  the 
eases  of  other  boys,  thus  stirring  him  to  possibilities  of 


A  FEIENDLY  METHOD  11 

achievement  on  his  own  part.  Now  it  is  of  the  greatest 
value  to  present  to  him  as  the  next  step  in  the  process, 
not  something  which  others  do  for  him,  but  a  move  in 
which  he  is  the  prime  actor. 

Thus  is  established  the  scientific  principle  in  the  boy's 
mind  at  once,  that  it  is  the  boy  himself  who  is  doing  this, 
not  someone  else  acting  for  him.  The  analj'-sis  blank  used 
is  one  that  has  proved  its  adaptability  in  several  years  of 
practical  use.  After  much  experience  with  the  analyses 
of  thousands  of  older  boys,  including  both  high-school 
and  employed,  and  after  some  chance  to  see  what  these 
boys  actually  did  in  the  field  of  work  as  the  years  went 
on,  this  revised  blank  adapted  to  older  school  and  work- 
ing boys  has  been  prepared.  There  are  furnished  also 
separate  inserts  or  supplements  with  a  few  special  ques- 
tions for  high-school  boys  and  for  employed  boys,  and 
a  third  insert  for  use  in  dealing  with  boys  who  show 
adaptability  for  or  interest  in  full-time  Christian 
Callings. 

There  are  three  main  divisions  to  the  blank — Personal 
History,  Personal  Characteristics,  and  Ambitions  and 
Interests.  The  questions  are  evidently  in  proper  line 
with  older-boy  psychology,  for  frequently  the  boys' 
answers  are  so  naive  or  so  full  of  meaning,  as  the  case 
may  be,  that  they  indicate  how  intimately  connected  with 
the  real  antagonisms,  interests,  and  longing  of  boy  nature 
these  questions  really  are.  The  boy  should  know,  while 
preparing  his  blank,  that  it  is  going  to  be  used  by  those 
who  are  attempting  to  aid  him  in  this  process.  This,  in 
a  majority  of  cases,  makes  the  boy  more  careful  and 
impresses  him  increasingly,  as  he  goes  on  from  question 
to  question,  with  the  idea  that  human  resources  are  some- 
what chartable  and  that  it  is  high  time  that  he  take  stock 
of  himself. 

The  information  turned  in,  however,  is  so  extremely 
valuable  in  many  boys'  cases  that  if  there  were  no  reac- 


12  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

tion  of  value  on  the  boy  himself,  this  study  which  the  boy 
makes  would  still  be  an  important  part  of  the  vocational- 
guidance  process.  As  we  deal  with  more  and  more  boys, 
we  are  becoming  convinced  that  the  type  of  analysis 
blank  which  we  are  using  not  only  gives  us  historical 
data  but  acts  as  a  simple,  psychological  test  in  locating 
what  have  been  called  human  interests,  and  equally  in  the 
revealing  of  mental  characteristics,  that  is,  helping  dis- 
cover mental  type. 

Again,  the  boy's  own  study  forms  more  than  half  the 
basis  on  which  his  first  interviewer  is  selected.  The  mere 
facts  which  the  boy  may  put  down  look  ordinary  enough 
at  a  glance,  but  to  the  leader  who  will  give  careful 
thought  and  study  to  these  boyish  statements  of  fact 
and  interest,  they  become  wonderfully  human  stories  and 
make  an  indispensable  step  in  the  process  of  vocational 
determination. 

It  has  been  found  best  not  to  give  these  blanks  out  to 
boys  in  a  general  meeting  but,  having  made  a  presenta- 
tion covering  certain  fundamental  principles,  to  let  the 
boys  separate  into  congenial  groups  in  small  rooms,  with 
a  man  to  about  every  ten  boys.  This  leader  gives  to  each 
boy  a  blank  and  remains  to  aid  them  in  any  way  they 
desire  while  filling  in  answers  to  the  questions. 

3.     Character  Analysis. 

This  term  has  been  used  to  cover  a  variety  of  efforts 
on  the  part  of  one  person,  more  or  less  expert,  to  read 
or  study  into  the  characteristics  of  a  second  person  to 
find,  primarily,  what  could  be  considered  significant  in 
one's  vocational  aptitudes  and  possibilities.  IMuch  of  it 
in  times  past  has  been  evidently  an  attempt  to  be  or 
appear  occult  and  infallible.  Such  guidance  is  usually 
unsafe  and  some  of  it  thoroughly  unreliable,  if  not  fraud- 
ulent. 

There  is  a  broad  sense,  however,  in  which  the  study  of 


A  FRIENDLY  METHOD  13 

older  boys  or  adults  by  others  can  be  done  sympatheti- 
cally and  intelligently.  So  again,  in  a  rather  friendly, 
unprofessional  manner,  experienced  teachers,  secretaries, 
business  and  professional  men  have  been  found  to  be  of 
great  service  in  helping  boys  catalogue  their  resources, 
take  account  of  stock,  locate  their  vocational  assets. 

Even  more  the  principle  of  character  analysis  is  safe 
and  useful  when  undertaken  in  the  direct  and  truly  help- 
ful sense.  This  means  for  the  boy  to  face  with  his  trusted 
leaders  the  great  character  decisions  of  life,  moral  ques- 
tions, personal  temptations,  unfortunate  habits,  and  his 
relation  to  the  church,  to  God,  and  the  great  constructive 
work  of  Christendom. 

Character  is  so  obviously  the  basis  of  real  personal 
success  and  usefulness  to  society,  that  the  study  of  a 
boy's  characteristics  and  his  character  needs  are  of  vital 
importance  in  any  vocational-guidance  system. 

4.     Study  of  the  Boy's  Analysis. 

It  would  seem  a  matter  of  ordinary  common  sense, 
after  a  boy  had  made  out  a  blank  covering  fifty  or  more 
questions,  to  give  that  blank  an  intimate  and  thorough 
study  and  this  is  of  course  paramount  to  success  in  the 
later  steps.  An  educator  who  heard  one  of  our  workers 
aiding  a  group  of  local  leaders  in  this  process  remarked 
that  this  step  must  be  the  key  to  much  of  our  satisfactory 
experience.  ' '  I  have  seen  such  blanks  by  the  hundred, ' ' 
he  said, ' '  made  out  by  boys  and  girls  in  the  schools  of  my 
state,  but  that  is  as  far  as  the  process  usually  goes.  The 
pupils  fill  out  the  blanks  and  they  are  piled  up  in  the  file 
cases  in  the  principal's  office." 

When  we  interest  a  boy  in  the  serious  matter  of  choos- 
ing a  life  work,  sufficiently  to  induce  him  to  make  an 
analysis  of  himself,  we  must  perforce  be  ready  to  give  the 
necessary  time  ourselves  and  to  discover  those  persons  in 
the  community  who  are  gifted  in  this  kind  of  service, 


14  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

the  art  of  seeing  significance  in  the  reactions  of  boys 
as  represented  by  their  studies  on  paper.  This  part  of 
the  process  is  so  important  that  methods  for  this  step  in 
vocational  guidance  will  be  suggested  more  fully  in 
Chapter  IV. 

5.     Interviewing  a  Prime  Factor. 

When  the  boy's  blank  has  been  carefully  studied  and 
facts  noted,  the  first  interviewer  can  then  be  intelligently 
selected.  He  may  be  the  counselor  type,  a  man  familiar 
with  boy  life,  with  educational  matters,  and  somewhat 
with  business  and  industry,  and  the  professions.  He  will 
go  over  the  whole  vocational  problem  with  the  boy  briefly 
and  help  a  boy  who  is  greatly  puzzled  to  see  possible 
paths  into  the  world's  work. 

Or  the  boy  may  have  indicated  already  a  very  definite 
tendency,  hence  he  will  be  directed  first  to  an  expert  or 
specialist  in  the  line  of  work  that  the  boy  fancies  at  least 
he  wants  to  enter  and  for  which  he  gives  some  evidence 
of  being  fitted.  It  is  naturally  of  supreme  importance 
to  select  men  who  have  the  character  qualifications.  That 
man  who  is  making  a  quick  and  possibly  cheap  success 
in  a  given  occupation,  is  distinctly  not  the  man  to  meet 
boys  in  this  intimate,  friendly  way.  There  is  bound  to 
take  place  what  is  called  the  transfer  of  personality  and 
we  must  use  great  caution  about  the  kind  of  personality 
and  character  we  are  helping  transfer  from  man  to  boy. 

Then  the  interviewer  may  have  much  information  but 
not  be  familiar  with  boys,  or  he  may  have  both  these 
advantages  and  not  know  the  particular  process  and  just 
what  is  expected  of  him. 

With  kindly  coaching  and  careful  guidance,  interested 
men  who  have  never  done  vocational  and  character- 
decision  interviewing  before,  frequently  develop  into 
counselors  of  rare  ability.  These  busy  men  often  admit 
that  this  service  to  boys  has  been  a  thoroughly  delightful 


A  FEIENDLY  METHOD  15 

experience,  and  so  much  the  more  because  they  discover 
in  themselves  useful  talents  of  which  they  were  largely 
unconscious. 

No  less  valuable  in  turn  is  the  effect  of  the  interviewers 
on  the  boy,  lifting  him  frequently  in  a  single  half  hour 
of  conference  to  courage  and  understanding,  and  grasp 
of  himself  and  circumstances. 

The  plan  of  having  the  interviewer  make  out  a  brief 
written  report  of  the  results  of  his  conference  with  each 
boy,  gives  prominence  to  the  impressions  made  upon  the 
interviewer  by  the  boy,  and  aids  greatly  in  following  up 
the  boys'  cases. 

Such  helpful  contacts  between  men  and  boys  are  of 
utmost  value  in  any  community,  and  if  the  preliminary 
steps  are  well  performed  and  the  follow-up  conscien- 
tiously carried  out,  the  interview  plan,  bringing  together 
the  experienced  man  with  the  inexperienced  but  potential 
boy,  is  full  of  promise  and  satisfaction.  (See  Chapter  V 
for  additional  points  on  interviewing  boys.) 

6.     Placement  Where  Necessary. 

Surely  not  more  than  ten  per  cent  of  the  thousands  of 
employed  boys  who  have  been  through  the  Find  Yourself 
Campaigns,  have  made  any  quick  changes  in  employ- 
ment. Some  were  already  in  their  logical  field  of  work 
or  could  not  enter  their  chosen  field  until  after  consider- 
able study  and  preparation.  Moreover,  with  the  large 
number  of  representative  interviewers,  the  matter  of  find- 
ing the  opportunity  for  apprenticeship  in  any  of  the 
occupations  found  in  the  local  city  or  town  has  not  been 
difficult.  Occasionally  a  boy  must  go  to  some  other 
locality  for  the  right  job,  but  here  Y.  M.  C.  A.  machinery, 
state  and  local,  has  usually  proved  equal  to  the  boy's 
need.  The  process  is  so  moderate  that  placement  prob- 
lems are  greatly  diminished.  Often  a  boy  stays  for  a 
time,  wisely,  in  what  looks  like  a  blind-alley  job,  when  in 


16  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

reality  the  position  is  a  dry  dock,  a  means  of  earning  his 
living  while  being  prepared  for  the  wider  experiences 
and  greater  usefulness  of  the  days  ahead. 

7.     Conserving  Results. 

After  the  boy 's  vocational  status  has  been  first  studied 
by  himself — analyzed  by  experienced  leaders — subjected 
to  one  or  more  interviews  with  general  counselors  and 
specialists,  made  clearer  by  the  written  reports  of  these 
interviewers,  some  coordination  is  obviously  necessary. 
At  this  point,  someone,  the  boy's  group  leader,  Associa- 
tion secretary,  or  other  experienced  person,  needs  to  go 
over  the  entire  matter  and  help  the  boy  digest  all  the 
important  data.  In  some  of  the  most  thorough  campaigns 
one  interviewer  has  assumed  responsibility  for  keeping  in 
touch  with  each  boy  by  correspondence  and  appoint- 
ments, this  relationship  lasting  for  a  period  of  months 
until  the  young  man  is  well  settled  in  his  plans  and 
reasonably  confident  of  the  future. 

Sometimes  a  club  leader  assumes  this  responsibility  for 
a  group  of  boys.  Some  Young  Men 's  Christian  Associa- 
tions have  designated  temporarily  the  time  of  one  secre- 
tary for  such  work.  In  the  smaller  campaigns  a  com- 
mittee of  interviewers  have  carried  through  the  follow-up 
system.  The  need  of  some  such  arrangement  is  obvious. 
(See  also  Chapter  X.) 

Summarizing. 

The  essential  steps  in  this  friendly  method  of  voca- 
tional guidance  as  developed  from  the  experience  of 
many  workers  in  different  parts  of  the  country  are  the 
following : 

Presenting  vocational  information. 

Giving  the  boy  a  chance  to  analyze  himself.    I\Iaking 

a  careful  study  of  the  boy's  statements  in  the 

analysis  blank. 


A  FEIENDLY  METHOD  17 

Scheduled  interviews  with  general  counselors  and 
advice  and  help  of  experienced  men  in  different 
vocations. 

Attention  to  the  character-building  angle  of  the 
vocational  process. 

Aid  in  securing  the  right  job  when  a  change  is  neces- 
sary. 

Conscientious  and  patient  follow-up  of  each  boy's 
plans  and  problems. 


Chapter  IV 

ANALYZING  THE  BOY'S  BLANK 

When  one  sits  down  with  a  boy's  self-analysis  in  his 
hand,  he  has  before  him  at  least  four  objectives: 

a.  To  discover  in  a  general  way  what  the  boy  has 

revealed  about  himself  in  order  that  someone 
may  deal  intelligently  with  his  particular  case. 

b.  To  locate  the  points  of  interest  and  emphasis  for 

the  interviewer,  who,  knowing  much  about  some 
vocation  and  therefore  valuable  as  an  inter- 
viewer, may  at  the  same  time  be  quite  inexperi- 
enced in  the  study  of  a  boy's  problems,  or  may 
not  be  at  all  analytically  minded.  Also  to  save 
time  for  the  interviewers,  especially  in  connection 
with  campaigns  where  during  a  given  period 
large  numbers  of  boys  are  to  be  interviewed. 

c.  To  learn  from  the  boy's  statements  about  himself 

whether  he  needs  first,  a  general  counselor,  or  a 
man  with  special  knowledge  in  some  vocational 
field.  And,  in  addition,  to  sense  the  type  of  per- 
sonality among  the  interviewers  who  will  evi- 
dently fit  best  this  boy's  temperament  and  needs. 

d.  To  find  among  the  blanks  those  which  indicate  the 

need  of  special  treatment.  That  is,  the  blank 
may  be  sparkling  in  its  answers  and  show  a  boy 
of  brilliant  parts,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  a  boy 
very  bright  but  only  superficially  interested. 
These  extremely  bright  boys  may  be  critical  of 
the  whole  process  at  the  start  and  much  care  must 
be  taken  in  advance  of  the  interview,  to  set  the 
stage  right. 

Again,  the  blank  may  be  quite  unrevealing, 


ANALYZING  THE  BOY'S  BLANK  19 

giving  almost  no  indication  of  the  boy's  type  or 
needs  except  that  his  need  is  great  but  vague. 
This  will  take  an  interviewer  both  of  sympathetic 
and  analytical  abilities  so  as  to  draw  the  boy  out 
and  discover  what  the  blank  has  not  told.  Or, 
the  blank  may  show  much  greater  need  from  the 
moral  standpoint  or  with  relation  to  home  condi- 
tions than  in  any  vocational  problem,  indicating 
the  necessity  of  an  entirely  different  treatment 
from  the  usual  process. 

Large  Campaigns. 

In  the  more  extensive  efforts  where  from  300  to  1,000 
boys  are  to  be  dealt  with,  it  has  been  found  wise  to  have  a 
special  committee  selected  to  do  the  analyzing.  Some  of 
these  men  may  incidentally  be  interviewers,  but  their 
primary  responsibility  is  to  examine  each  blank  and 
record  their  impressions  with  the  objects  in  view  as  noted 
above.  In  one  large  city,  a  club  made  up  of  business  and 
professional  men,  including  a  large  number  of  educators, 
accepted  this  responsibility  and  analyzed  all  the  blanks. 
In  this  case  it  may  be  necessary  to  have  a  demonstration 
of  analyzing,  going  over  several  typical  blanks  until  the 
process  is  well  established  in  the  men 's  minds.  Then  the 
men  take  the  blanks  to  their  homes  or  offices,  and  return 
them  to  a  given  secretary  or  committeeman  who  utilizes 
all  this  information  in  aiding  the  interviewers'  committee 
to  select  the  right  man  to  first  meet  the  boy. 

The  Normal  Arrangement. 

Where  a  more  typical  campaign  involving  from  fifty 
to  200  boys  is  concerned,  satisfactory  procedure  is  some- 
what as  follows.  A  group  of  about  ten  or  a  dozen  men 
come  together  to  give  the  better  part  of  an  entire  day 
to  studying  100  blanks.  If  the  number  is  200,  obvi- 
ously it  is  necessary  either  to  increase  the  number  of 


20  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

analyzers  or  give  two  days  to  the  work.  These  men 
should  include  the  man  in  charge  of  the  campaign,  local 
boys'  work  secretaries,  committeemen,  interviewers,  and, 
in  many  strictly  Y.  M.  C.  A.  campaigns,  the  educational 
secretary,  the  industrial  secretary,  the  physical  director, 
or  the  employment  secretary.  Where  the  work  is  done  in 
a  county  or  a  small  city,  school  men  who  have  the  voca- 
tional interest  are  very  helpful  in  this  process.  Fre- 
quently in  the  larger  places,  there  is  a  placement  secre- 
tary or  teacher  in  charge  of  vocational  work  who  is  very 
glad  to  spend  the  day  helping  out,  and  at  the  same  time 
getting  in  touch  himself  with  the  particular  psychology 
of  our  methods. 

The  interruptions  are  so  many,  and  so  often  the  busi- 
ness and  professional  men  will  come  and  stay  an  hour  or 
two,  and  be  called  to  their  offices,  that  it  usually  takes 
about  two  and  one  half  hours  in  the  morning  and  again  in 
the  afternoon,  to  properly  analyze  100  blanks  with  as 
many  as  twelve  men  working. 

This  process  should  not  be  hurried  through,  for  both 
from  the  matter  of  conscientious  treatment  of  the  boy's 
blank  and  efficiency  in  discovering  the  boy's  vocational 
tendency,  the  analyzing  process  must  be  well  done  to 
insure  reasonable  success. 

Dealing  with  the  Individual  Blank. 

When  all  is  ready  and  your  analyzers  have  blanks  in 
their  hands,  some  leader  who  is  familiar  with  the  process 
takes  a  boy's  blank  and  analyzes  it  before  the  group,  giv- 
ing all  the  men  an  idea  as  to  what  points  to  look  for,  how 
to  discover  correlation  between  the  boy's  interests  in 
study  and  work  and  play,  going  through  the  entire  study 
which  the  boy  has  made,  having  someone  take  down 
meanwhile  the  notations  which  this  analyzer  deems  neces- 
sary for  the  interviewer's  information.  This  leader 
should  stop  from  time  to  time,  giving  the  men  a  chance 


ANALYZING  THE  BOY'S  BLANK  21 

to  ask  questions,  to  agree  or  disagree  with  the  conclusion 
to  which  he  has  come.  When  the  notations  are  all  made, 
the  local  secretary  or  other  chief  promoter  of  the  cam- 
paign, or  his  representative,  should  present  the  list  of 
interviewers,  sho^^ang  their  names  and  their  special 
qualifications,  as  merchant,  engineer,  educator,  general 
counselor,  etc.  Then  the  analyzer  should  state  both  the 
vocational  status  and  type  of  personality  of  the  man  who, 
he  thinks,  should  first  interview  this  particular  boy.  The 
local  leader  should  then  decide  upon  some  man  from  the 
list,  or  if  such  a  man  does  not  appear  on  the  list,  think 
out  who  in  town  should  be  sought  as  first  interviewer. 

After  this  has  been  done  with  one  blank,  men  seem  to 
make  better  progress  by  starting  in,  each  with  some  boy's 
case  to  analyze  by  himself.  One  or  more  of  the  experi- 
enced leaders  should  be  free  to  go  about  from  man  to 
man,  aiding  each  one  to  come  to  logical  conclusions  about 
the  facts  presented  in  the  particular  blank  he  holds,  show- 
ing if  necessary  how  to  get  those  facts  stated  in  the 
briefest  possible  notes,  and  again  the  type  of  interviewer 
to  be  selected.  During  the  process  of  analyzing,  some 
men  quickly  show  ability  to  analyze  well  and  these  will 
not  need  much  further  attention  from  the  campaign 
leaders.  Others,  of  course,  will  require  help  throughout 
the  day  in  making  a  good  analysis  of  each  boy's  paper. 

Each  analyzer  should  be  cautioned  not  to  drop  the 
blank  and  lose  the  impression  which  the  boy  has  made 
upon  him,  until  he  has  discussed  with  the  local  leader 
what  he  has  discovered,  and  has  aided  the  latter  in  mak- 
ing the  first  interview  assignment. 

A  method  which  is  practical  for  most  analyzers  is  to 
begin  by  reading  the  blank  through  entire — Personal 
History,  Personal  Characteristics,  Ambitions  and  Inter- 
ests, and  the  special  insert  or  supplement  (High  School, 
Employed,  or  Christian  Callings).  As  he  reads  through, 
it  is  well  to  check  those  answers  about  which  he  wishes 


22  THE  riND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

later  to  make  a  notation,  unless  just  the  thought  strikes 
the  mind  at  the  moment  which  he  desires  to  pass  on  to 
the  interviewer.  In  that  case,  it  is  well  to  make  the  nota- 
tion at  once.  After  noting  the  high  points  of  emphasis, 
the  analyzer  takes  the  back  of  the  insert  arranged  for 
that  purpose,  and  writes  his  notations  thereon,  preferably- 
signing  his  name  so  that  if  some  point  comes  up  for 
future  discussion,  the  original  analyzer  may  be  traced. 
Following  are  the  actual  notations*  recently  made  on  a 
blank  which  revealed  a  boy  of  high  ability  and  serious 
purpose,  but  the  answers  were  extremelj''  vague  from  the 
standpoint  of  locating  tendency.  The  references  such  as 
Section  B — question  11,  refer  of  course  to  the  sections 
and  question  numbers  of  the  main  blank. 

1.  Note  that  the  boy  does  not  like  his  present  work. 
Does  he  mean  no  future  for  him  ?  He  talks  of  quick 
success.  He  is  getting  good  pay  now.  Does  he  mean 
higher  success  ? 

2.  He  is  not  taking  any  night-school  work. 

3.  He  mentions  saving.  Discuss  with  him  the  form  his 
saving  takes. 

4.  The  boy  is  a  Protestant  but  not  a  member  of  church. 

5.  His  answers  to  questions  1  and  2 — Section  B  are 
thoughtful  and  significant. 

6.  He  makes  an  extremely  fine  statement  under  ques- 
tion 11 — Section  B. 

7.  He  has  unusually  large  social  and  study  interests. 

8.  The  additional  statement  which  he  has  put  on  the 
outside  of  the  blank  would  indicate  that  his  desire 
for  quick  success  has  a  distinctly  altruistic  note. 

9.  See  particularly  his  answer  to  question  11  on  the 
last  page  of  the  main  blank. 

*  Fuller  notes  are  necessary  when  we  are  dealing  with  boys  at  a 
distance,  but  such  brief  comments  as  these  are  sufficient  to  open 
up  the  significant  points  in  the  blank,  wherever  the  interviewer  has 
the  advantage  of  being  in  meetings  with  other  counselors,  as  is  the 
ease  in  campaigns. 


ANALYZING  THE  BOY'S  BLANK         23 

10.  Probably  this  boy  has  good  ability,  hence  his  confi- 
dence is  well  placed. 

11.  Try  to  help  him  discover  among  his  many  vocational 
interests,  what  is  primary  and  what  secondary. 

The  analyzer  will  frequently  be  disappointed  in  what 
seems  like  a  lack  of  significance  in  the  answers  to  such 
questions  as  No.  10 — Section  B.  Frequently,  however, 
they  are  important  in  relation  to  statements  elsewhere 
and  are  always  valuable  to  the  boy  in  giving  him  infor- 
mation about  the  qualities  which  are  essential  in  the 
process  of  earning  one's  living.  This  is  also  true  of  the 
long  list  of  vocations  submitted  on  the  last  page.  It  is 
distinctly  informing  to  the  boy  himself,  and  is  given  thus 
fully  for  his  particular  benefit. 

Most  analyzers  learn  quickly  how  to  balance  study  and 
work  and  play  interests  over  against  moving-picture  reac- 
tions and  attitudes  toward  leadership  or  books  or  people, 
and  gain  thereby  rather  definite  impressions  of  the  boy  in 
question.  This  has  been  made  easier  by  the  principle 
used  in  arranging  the  studies,  question  2 — Section  C, 
which  is  purposely  different  from  that  followed  in  listing 
the  vocations,  question  14 — Section  C.  Diametrically 
opposite  courses  have  been  taken  in  approaching  these 
two  fundamental  interests  and  frequently  the  skilful 
analyzer  can  read  deep  significance  as  to  the  boy's  work 
qualifications  from  the  way  in  which  this  part  of  the 
blank  is  marked.  To  take  an  analogy  from  the  restaurant, 
the  studies  are  arranged  on  the  cafeteria  style,  everything 
spread  around  without  any  apparent  logic  in  the  arrange- 
ment. The  boy  will  be  obliged  to  go  through  the  whole 
list  as  one  does  in  a  cafeteria,  searching  for  what  one 
wants. 

The  vocations  are  listed,  however,  on  the  "combination 
breakfast"  style.  Psychologically,  we  feel  it  will  be  of 
value  to  compare  the  boy's  interests  as  represented  by 
these  different  choices — on  the  one  hand,  where  he  must 


24  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

search  through  a  long  list  for  his  interests,  and  on  the 
other,  where  the  vocations  are  grouped  under  appro- 
priate headings.  If  his  choices  are  extremely  varied  in 
study,  following  none  of  the  lines  which  would  indicate 
him  to  be  strictly  scientific  and  mechanical,  etc.,  and  his 
vocational  choices,  also,  in  spite  of  the  grouping  process, 
go  "all  over  the  map"  we  will  know  that  this  boy  either 
has  a  considerable  mixture  of  vocational  tendencies,  or 
else  he  is  one  of  those  subtle  eases  whose  primary  tend- 
ency must  be  discovered  lying  deeper  than  surface 
interests  and  impressions. 

On  the  other  hand,  suppose  a  boy  checks  diagonally 
across  the  page,  from  left  top  to  right  bottom  (see  chart, 
page  97),  when  he  is  checking  on  the  cafeteria  style,  indi- 
cating strong  literary  and  humanic*  tendency  in  studies. 
Then  the  analyzer  should  turn  to  the  last  page  and  see 
whether  or  no  his  vocational  choices  are  also  literary  and 
humanic.  If  so,  the  boy  indicates  a  rather  clean-cut  type, 
at  least  on  paper. 

But  if  he  checks  in  the  vocations,  one  or  two  occupa- 
tions in  each  of  the  varied  groupings,  the  analyzer  should 
try  to  discover  if  in  spite  of  choices  in  the  artistic  and 
commercial,  for  instance,  his  selections  are  really  such  as 
indicate  his  desire  to  work  with  people  rather  than  with 
things,  in  correspondence  with  what  he  has  said  about  his 
interests  in  study.  If  no  such  correspondence  occurs,  the 
analyzer  should  indicate  this  and  let  the  interviewer  go 
further  into  this  matter  in  personal  discussion  with  the 
boy. 

Other  points  to  be  remembered  in  studying  the  state- 
ments made  by  the  boy,  are : 

1.  Take  note  of  the  general  appearance  of  the  blank 

*  There  is  some  question  concerning  the  word  humanic  as  an 
adjective,  some  preferring  the  well-recognized  word  humanistic. 
But  the  term  as  applied  in  this  volume  has  been  so  much  used  of 
late  that  we  have  felt  it  proper  to  continue  its  use. 


ANALYZING  THE  BOY'S  BLANK  25 

and  information  gleaned  from  reading  between  the 
lines. 

2.  Watch  for  evidence  that  the  boy  would  welcome 
help  in  moral  or  religious  problems. 

3.  Beware  of  the  analyzer  who  looks  for  star  blanks 
and  turns  down  or  slights  those  which  are  not  quite 
so  rich  in  surface  interest. 

4.  Make  sure  that  the  results  of  the  analysis  are  clearly 
written  on  the  back  of  the  insert  and  made  as  con- 
cise and  definite  as  possible. 

5.  Look  out  for  the  man  who  lacks  fundamental  confi- 
dence in  boys.  Such  a  man  thinks  every  odd  answer 
an  attempt  to  be  smart,  and  any  boyish  over-confi- 
dence an  effort  to  bluff  the  interviewer.  These  men 
make  poor  analyzers  and  should  be  eliminated  tact- 
fully and  given  some  other  part  of  the  work  better 
suited  to  their  abilities. 


Chapter  V 
THE  PLACE  AND  AET  OF  INTERVIEWING 

The  place  of  interviewing  has  often  been  exaggerated 
in  certain  forms  of  vocational  guidance.  Let  us  repeat — 
helping  a  boy  discover  his  logical  place  in  life  is  an 
educational  process.  In  previous  chapters  we  have  dis- 
cussed the  philosophy  underlying  a  friendly  unprofes- 
sional type  of  vocational  help.  We  have  pointed  out  how 
essential  it  is  that  certain  great  basic  principles,  in  the 
choosing  of  a  life  work,  be  placed  before  the  boys  by 
speakers  and  leaders  qualified  to  give  both  the  informa- 
tion and  the  inspiration  necessary  in  the  preliminary 
stages  of  the  boy 's  quest.  We  have  further  discussed  the 
boy's  part  in  making  out  his  analysis  and  the  unique 
importance  of  a  thorough  study  of  the  blank,  to  discover 
just  the  way  in  which  the  boy  reveals  himself  on  paper. 
We  are  now  at  the  place  where  the  personal  touch  is  once 
more  necessary. 

Counseling  or  interviewing  cannot  be  said  to  have  been 
over-used  through  any  lack  of  importance  but  merely 
because  leaders  have  thought  that  if  they  had  twenty- 
five  men  meet  100  boys  and  talk  over  vocational  problems 
they  had  done  all  that  was  necessary.  Every  bit  of 
the  preliminary  which  we  have  suggested  in  this  volume 
is  essential  to  a  thorough  preparation  of  the  boy's  mind 
and  an  understanding  of  the  boy's  situation.  Now  we 
are  ready  for  the  contact  of  personalities. 

First  in  the  matter  of  time  is  the  selection  and  enlist- 
ment of  these  men.    Let  it  be  said  for  the  leader 's  encour- 


THE  PLACE  AND  AET  OF  INTEEVIEWING  27 

agement  that  so  far  as  any  of  us  can  remember,  we  have 
not  as  yet  failed  in  any  city  or  town  in  the  United  States, 
to  secure  the  services  of  a  leading  professional  or  business 
man,  scientific  or  mechanical  expert,  whose  aid  in  inter- 
viewing boys  we  have  sought.  Possibly  some  day  we 
shall  strike  a  man  so  uninterested  in  the  progress  of  civili- 
zation and  in  the  individual  human  unit  thereof,  that  he 
will  refuse  to  do  this  service  for  an  American  boy.  But 
if  such  should  be  our  experience  tomorrow,  his  refusal 
would  stand  out  as  such  a  unique  event  that  we  could 
forever  afterward  point  him  out  as  the  supreme  excep- 
tion. Men  whose  wealth  is  counted  by  the  millions  and 
scientific  men  to  whom  wealth  means  nothing  but  the 
search  for  truth  means  more  even  than  life  itself,  skilled 
mechanics  and  professional  men  of  great  skill  and  fine- 
ness of  soul,  have  seen,  in  this  task  of  meeting  boys  in  a 
personal,  friendly  way,  an  opportunity  to  serve  well  their 
generation. 

We  know  enough  about  what  is  called  the  transfer  of 
personality  today — that  subtle  passing  of  psychic  influ- 
ences from  one  person  to  another — to  make  prominent  in 
our  minds  always,  character  qualities  in  the  selection 
of  interviewers.  When  the  boys  come  back  from  the 
interview  rooms  and  talk  again  familiarly  about  their 
experience,  they  are  much  more  likely  to  discuss  the  man 
than  what  the  man  said.  Many  a  boy,  especially  among 
the  employed  group,  has  few  opportunities  to  meet  men 
of  great  ability  and  largeness  of  soul.  We  do  something 
for  civilization  then  when  we  bring  to  bear  on  the  life  o:t 
a  boy  who  has  perhaps  splendid  latent  possibilities,  a 
personality  which  expresses  the  best  rather  than  the 
poorest  in  American  manhood. 

These  interviewers  will  of  course  be  of  two  kinds,  the 
general  counselor  and  what  might  be  termed  the  trade 
interviewer.  If  we  are  dealing  with  a  hundred  boys,  a 
study  of  their  analysis  blanks  will  probably  show  that 


28  THE  FIND  YOUKSELF  IDEA 

at  least  twenty-five  of  these  boys  will  need,  first,  a  man 
who  can  go  over  the  whole  situation  with  them.  These 
general  interviews  will  lead  up  later  to  special  inter- 
views of  what  might  be  called  the  trade  variety.  Having 
then  the  character  qualification  always  in  mind,  for 
100  boys  we  would  choose  twenty-five  to  thirty-five 
interviewers,  six  or  seven  of  whom  would  be  men  who 
understand  boys,  who  are  of  sympathetic  temperament, 
and  who  w411  help  bring  to  the  surface  the  best  aspira- 
tions and  hopes  of  a  very  shy  boy,  or  who  will  bring 
plain,  solemn  facts  to  the  boy  who  is  bumptious  and  over- 
confident of  himself.  The  remainder  will  probably  be 
chosen  on  account  of  their  general  character  and  their 
specific  knowledge  of  some  form  of  engineering,  medicine, 
banking,  and  the  like. 

The  following  list  is  one  which  has  been  used  as  a  basis 
of  selection  in  towns  of  from  50,000  population  up.  In 
the  rural  community  and  in  the  very  large  cities,  the  list 
will  naturally  be  modified  somewhat.  Such  a  list  as  this 
usually  suggests  to  the  boys'  work  secretary  and  the 
committeemen,  just  the  personalities  in  the  community 
whom  they  wish  to  enlist. 


Suggested  List  of  Interviewers. 

Lawyer. 

Physician. 

Master  Mechanic. 

Skilled  Electrician. 

Civil  or  Mechanical  Engineer. 

Automobile  Expert. 

Merchant  or  Banker. 

Salesman. 

Architect  or  Draftsman. 

Artist  or  Art  Instructor. 

Musician, 

Educational  Director  or  other  Educator. 


THE  PLACE  AND  ART  OF  INTERVIEWING  29 

Employment  Secretary  (if  possible). 

Minister. 

Physical  Director, 

Newspaper  Man. 

Y.  M.  C.  A.  General  Secretary. 

A  Contractor  (to  cover  various  trades  or  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  Central  Labor  Union  for  same 
purpose). 

Boys'  Work  Committeemen. 

Scout  Master. 

Club  Leaders. 

Visiting  Boys'  Work  Secretaries. 

According  to  the  business  and  industry  of  a  commu- 
nity, it  becomes  necessary  to  duplicate  certain  men.  For 
example,  if  you  are  working  in  a  town  where  automobiles 
are  manufactured,  there  will  be  a  large  interest  on  the 
part  of  boys  in  undertaking  careers  in  the  highly  skilled 
mechanical  lines.  Therefore,  you  will  need  to  duplicate 
master  mechanics,  engineers,  etc.,  to  cover  the  number  of 
boys.  Similarly,  in  some  city  which  is  a  distributing 
point  for  a  large  agricultural  or  industrial  region,  the 
boys  will  require  a  wholesale  merchant,  a  sales  manager, 
to  supplement  the  work  of  a  traveling  salesman  in  deal- 
ing with  boys  interested  in  w^holesale  lines.  It  is  also 
evident  that  a  goodly  number  of  the  men  chosen  origi- 
nally as  interviewers  for  a  specific  vocation,  will  be  able 
to  do  general  counseling. 

Ideally,  each  boy  ought  to  meet  at  least  one  man  of 
each  type,  for  there  are  many  character-building  ques- 
tions of  both  a  moral  and  religious  nature  which  come  up 
in  these  interviews,  and  in  addition  to  the  actual  trade 
information,  successful  men  are  able  to  give  boys  points 
not  only  on  the  education  and  training  necessary,  but 
equally  those  subtle  suggestions  as  to  vision,  persistency, 
loyalty,  and  the  like,  which  so  often  make  the  difference 
between  success  or  failure  in  a  given  career. 


30  THE  FIND  YOUKSELF  IDEA 

It  becomes  obvious  now  that  the  most  astute  leader 
will  have  none  too  much  skill  in  what  might  be  called 
matching  personalities  in  the  selection  of  the  particular 
interviewer  for  the  particular  boy.  For  example,  here 
is  a  hustling,  successful  young  business  man  who  wins 
by  his  boldness  and  by  the  confidence  which  that  boldness 
and  daring  beget  among  the  older  business  men  of  the 
community.  He  has  had,  in  many  ways,  both  a  fortunate 
heredity  and  a  favorable  environment.  Here  is  a  boy 
who,  by  the  indication  of  vocational  interests  on  the 
blank,  points  to  the  same  phase  of  the  business  in  which 
this  young  man  is  engaged.  But  the  boy  is  a  timid, 
shrinking  type  with  good  ability  but  little  confidence. 
His  father  is  dead  and  he  has  struggled  along  trying  to 
help  support  his  mother,  not  having  the  clothes  to  wear  or 
the  chance  for  indulging  in  vigorous  sports  which  boys  of 
his  age  have  had.  He  needs  the  most  sympathetic  possi- 
ble kind  of  handling  by  a  man  who  senses  the  boy 's  whole 
boyish  struggle,  his  unsatisfied  longings,  someone  who 
will  appreciate  the  possibilities  in  him  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  he  is  a  poor  advertiser  of  himself.  Our  hustling 
young  business  man,  who  is  just  in  the  first  glow  of 
success  and  believes  that  everybody  could  succeed  if  they 
would  only  do  as  he  does,  is  probably  the  last  man  in  the 
list  to  assign  to  this  particular  boy  for  an  interview. 
Some  older,  fatherly  man,  just  as  successful,  who  has 
seen  employes  in  his  own  concern  come  through  from 
quiet,  earnest  boys  to  confident  and  successful  men,  is 
assuredly  the  man  to  meet  this  boy  and  help  in  the 
process  of  bringing  his  soul  to  bloom. 

In  Chapter  VI,  additional  material  will  be  found  deal- 
ing with  further  detail  in  connection  with  the  assign- 
ments, the  selection  of  rooms,  meeting  of  interviewers, 
time  to  be  consumed  in  each  interview,  and  what  to  do 
when  the  interviewer  fails  you. 


THE  PLACE  AND  AET  OF  INTEE VIEWING  31 

Coaching  the  Interviewer. 

Where  the  work  of  helping  boys  in  their  vocational 
choice  is  to  be  done  in  a  short  time  campaign  or  a  long 
time  effort,  or  even  better,  the  longer  time  effort  given 
momentum  by  a  short  campaign,  one  of  the  matters  which 
the  leaders  must  give  careful  attention  to  is  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  men  for  the  interview  work.  Certainly  in  a 
short  time  campaign  there  should  be  a  meeting  of  the 
interviewers,  as  described  in  Chapter  VI,  just  previous  to 
the  time  of  the  interviews,  when  the  men  can  have  in 
their  hands  the  analysis  blanks  of  the  boys  they  are  to 
interview,  and  the  comments  which  have  been  made  on 
those  blanks  by  the  analyzing  committee.  But  if  a  pre- 
vious meeting  can  be  held  in  an  unhurried  manner,  at 
which  time  something  of  the  simpler  psychology  of  the 
interview  can  be  gone  over,  it  will  be  most  advantageous. 

Recently  in  a  city  where  a  large  campaign  was  in 
progress,  three  such  meetings  were  held — first,  in  a  down- 
town club  where  men  of  wealth  and  position  are  accus- 
tomed to  go  for  the  noon-day  lunch.  This  made  it  possi- 
ble for  us  to  have  a  full  hour  at  the  luncheon  table  in  an 
environment  to  which  these  men  were  accustomed,  and 
where  they  were  in  a  mental  condition  to  receive  the  best 
which  the  trained  leader  could  give  them.  Another  was 
held  for  a  different  group  of  men,  mostly  successful 
young  engineers,  salesmen,  and  the  like,  in  the  conference 
room  of  a  large  insurance  company.  A  third  such  meet- 
ing was  arranged  in  the  residence  district  at  a  popular 
restaurant,  where  the  chairman  of  the  committee  in  that 
center  gave  a  dinner  to  twenty-five  men  whom  he  had 
personally  invited  to  be  interviewers.  In  this  way,  some 
seventy-five  or  eighty  men  had  from  one  to  two  hours' 
thorough  conference  with  men  who  had  conducted  cam- 
paigns and  interviews  for  many  years. 

Frequently,  however,  such  preliminary  meetings  are 
difficult  to  arrange  and  many  an  interviewer  will  not  be 


32  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

able  to  attend  any  meeting  prior  to  the  meeting  of  inter- 
viewers on  what  is  sometimes  called  the  big  interview 
night,  and  occasionally  it  is  regrettably  true  that  some 
interviewer  will  be  obliged  to  meet  his  assignments  with- 
out even  this  desired  appointment.  For  all  the  counselors, 
and  especially  those  men  who  do  not  attend  a  meeting, 
the  following  brief  articles  have  already  proved  them- 
selves good  coaching  material.  Either  of  these  may  be 
reproduced  in  a  four-page  folder,  small  enough  to  fit 
in  the  pocket,  and  if  mailed  out  will  usually  be  read 
and  digested  by  men  who  have  been  invited  to  act  as 
counselors. 

The  first  was  used  originally  in  a  New  York  City  Find 
Yourself  Campaign,  largely  involving  employed  boys; 
the  second  was  prepared  with  the  high-school  boy  in 
mind.  We  have  purposely  inserted  both  of  these,  think- 
ing that  men  might  care  to  have  them,  either  or  both, 
reproduced  for  use  in  campaigns. 

Helping  a  Boy  to  Find  Himself* 

The  heart  of  the  "Find  Yourself"  idea  is  in  the  per- 
sonal interview.  Here  it  is  that  a  boy  who  is  sufficiently 
concerned  about  his  future  to  meet  an  appointment,  sits 
down  with  a  business  or  professional  man  who  is  suffi- 
ciently interested  in  the  future  of  boys  to  give  his  time 
and  energy  in  this  definite  way. 

Evidently  these  two — boy  and  man — sitting  down 
together  for  a  half  hour,  have  something  in  common; 
they  are  both  interested  in  the  boy's  highest  success. 

Each  has  something  to  contribute  to  the  interview.  The 
boy  brings  youth,  latent  capacities,  ambition,  desire  to 
learn ;  the  man  brings  experience,  sympathy,  a  record  of 
achievement,  a  desire  to  impart  information.  That  is  a 
fine  meeting-ground,  surely.  It  is  easy  to  hold  an  inter- 
view under  circumstances  like  these. 

*  From  a  pamphlet  by  E.  C.  Foster. 


THE  PLACE  AND  ART  OF  INTERVIEWING  33 

Of  course,  these  two  are  usually  strangers.  The  man 
should  have  learned  something  of  the  boy  from  the  self- 
analysis  blank  which  has  come  to  him  in  advance.  That 
suggests  that  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  get  acquainted. 
An  acquaintance  can  usually  be  effected  in  the  first  five 
minutes  by  getting  the  boy  to  tell  what  he  is  interested  in. 
That  is  much  more  important,  in  these  first  moments, 
than  anything  else. 

That  leads  up  to  the  questions  which  are  in  the  boy's 
mind.  Why  did  he  seek  this  interview?  What  are  his 
needs  ?  He  may  not  be  able  to  tell  these  needs  fully ;  he 
may  be  groping.  But  the  man  may  be  able  to  discern  the 
boy 's  needs — and  that  is  the  first  step  toward  giving  him 
help. 

Perhaps  his  greatest  needs  will  not  be  the  ones  most 
easily  discovered;  they  may  lie  deep,  rather  than  on  the 
surface.    They  are  worth  searching  out. 

Many  a  boy  needs  a  change  in  attitude  more  than  he 
needs  a  change  in  program.  Many  a  misfit  can  be  ad- 
justed to  fit  properly  into  the  position  he  now  has. 

Sometimes  there  is  deep  down  below  the  vocational 
problem  one  that  has  to  do  with  moral  issues  in  life.  It's 
a  great  thing  for  a  man  to  be  able  to  discover  this  without 
losing  the  new  grip  of  confidence  between  the  boy  and 
himself. 

If  some  of  our  great  business  experts  are  right,  and  the 
big  world  needs  real  religion  more  than  it  needs  anything 
else,  perhaps  this  boy  needs  religion,  too — genuine  funda- 
mental religion,  with  heart  power  and  brain  power  in 
right  proportions.  It  isn't  a  time  to  talk  creeds,  of 
course. 

Perhaps  he  needs  social  adjustment;  many  boys  of  this 
age  do.  Frequently  the  man  can  discover  this  and  give 
him  real  help — even  in  a  half  hour. 

Certainly  this  boy  should  see  his  way  more  clearly 
when  he  leaves  the  interviewer.    He  may  or  may  not  see 


34  THE  FIND  YOUESELF  IDEA 

his  very  next  step ;  but  his  goal  ought  to  be  clearer.  And 
his  ambition  to  reach  that  goal  should  be  stronger,  and 
more  deep-seated  his  willingness  to  pay  the  price  of  real 
success. 

Frequently  it  will  happen  that  the  interview  has  not 
carried  the  boy  far  enough.  Possibly  the  interviewer  will 
choose  to  meet  him  again,  or  prefers  to  have  him  meet 
some  other  man.  This  will  be  noted  on  the  interviewer's 
report  blank  and  passed  on  to  the  secretary  in  charge. 

For  after  all,  the  personal  interview  is  not  the  end,  but 
just  the  beginning. 

It's  a  great  privilege  to  sit  down  with  a  boy  and  help 
him  straighten  out  his  course  in  life,  if  so  be  he  has  been 
tacking  aimlessly  up  to  now. 

No  greater  privilege  is  likely  to  come  to  a  man  than  the 
privilege  of  helping  a  boy  to  find  himself. 

The  Art  of  Interviewing* 

The  art  of  interviewing  comes  with  practice.  Experi- 
ence is  an  inspiring  as  well  as  the  best  teacher  in  this 
art.  Lack  of  confidence  at  the  start  in  this  highly  multi- 
plying personal  contact  with  individual  boys  is  largely 
overcome  by  just  being  one's  own  self  and  evidencing  a 
sincerity  of  purpose  in  seeking  to  cooperate  "svith  the  boy 
in  the  solution  of  the  problems  and  plans  of  his  life. 

Win  the  Confidence  of  the  Boy.  This  is  a  wise  first 
objective.  This  usually  is  brought  about  by  showing  a 
genuine  interest  in  the  boy 's  whole  life  and  activity.  By 
tactful  questioning  or  by  previous  study  of  the  boy 's  self- 
analysis  blank  there  will  be  discovered  a  "point  of  con- 
tact ' '  and  a  common  interest  that  will  help  to  set  the  boy 
at  ease  and  open  the  way  for  a  frank  and  helpful  inter- 
view. Some  men  check  one  or  more  significant  bits  of 
information  noted  on  the  blank  and  then  open  the  inter- 

*  Material  fiirnished  by  Arthur  Cotton. 


THE  PLACE  AND  ART  OF  INTERVIEWING  35 

view  with  one  of  these  as  the  topic  of  conversation,  e.  g. : 
"I  note  you  are  a  baseball  fan.  I  used  to  play  on  the 
varsity  team.  At  what  position  do  you  play?"  or  "I 
note  that  you  and  your  friend  Tom  are  the  same  age  as 
my  ovm  boy,"  or  "I  have  a  personal  friend  who  works 
in  the  same  place  as  you,"  or  "You  and  I  can  shake 
hands  on  a  common  dislike  for  that  study  you  have 
marked,"  or  "My  father  died  when  I  was  a  boy,  also." 

Arrive  Quickly  at  the  Boy's  Particular  Problem.  The 
interview  period  is  all  too  brief.  After  establishing  a 
friendly  relationship  with  the  boy,  press  on  to  consider 
the  special  needs  as  indicated  by  a  careful  review  of  his 
analysis  blank.  "While  usually  it  is  best  to  draw  the  boy 
into  a  conversation,  it  will  be  necessary  for  the  inter- 
viewer wisely  to  direct  the  use  of  the  time  during  the 
conference.  Unnecessary  questions  or  conversation  may 
have  to  be  tactfully  set  aside  by  some  such  sincere  state- 
ment as,  "I'll  be  glad  to  talk  that  over  with  you  when 
we  have  an  opportunity  for  another  interview." 

In  referring  to  the  opportunities  or  disadvantages  of  a 
vocation  under  consideration  the  interviewer  should  play 
fair  with  the  boy,  not  over-emphasizing  either  phase  of 
the  question  but  frankly  calling  attention  to  the  difficul- 
ties as  well  as  to  the  challenge  of  each. 

Emphasize  the  Character  Values.  Conscious  that  this 
is  of  first  importance  each  interviewer  will  tactfully  bring 
the  boy  to  face  up  to  the  necessity  for  a  well-trained 
mind,  a  strong  body,  high  moral  standards,  and  deep- 
rooted  religious  principles  in  life.  Such  challenge  comes 
with  increasing  effectiveness  as  the  boy  is  led  to  some 
definite,  clear-cut,  personal  decision  with  regard  to  these 
matters  during  the  interview.  This  is  sometimes  accom- 
plished by  a  conversation  similar  to  the  following: 
"What  personal  moral  standards  do  you  consider  most 
necessary  in  the  vocation  you  think  of  going  into?  To 
what  extent  do  you  possess  these  qualities?    Well,  what 


36  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

are  you  going  to  do  about  it?  All  right,  good,  now  let's 
write  it  down." 

Seldom  does  the  successful  interviewer  "lecture  at" 
the  boys.  However,  if  he  is  alert  to  discover  on  the  self- 
analysis  blank  or  in  the  interview  any  evidence  of  weak- 
ness in  character,  he  will  with  earnestness,  sincerity,  and 
great  tact  lead  the  boy  to  a  self-evaluation  and  appro- 
priate decision  of  the  will.  Especially  will  he  lead  the 
boy  to  consider  his  relationships  of  life  to  the  home,  the 
school,  the  church,  his  companions,  boys  as  well  as  girls, 
and  to  such  helpful  service  tasks  in  behalf  of  the  com- 
munity as  will  tend  to  develop  character. 

The  subject  of  personal  religion  should  be  introduced 
with  sincerity  and  broad-minded  sympathy.  Most  older 
boys  are  eager,  indeed  hungry,  to  consider  this  phase  of 
life.  Here  again  and  in  particular,  there  must  be  a  note 
of  genuineness  if  permanent  results  are  to  follow. 

This  naturally  will  lead  the  interviewer  to  a  depend- 
ence upon  more  than  human  skill  and  ingenuity.  It  will 
call  for  fullest  conference  with  other  experienced  and 
character-kindling  interviewers.  But  still  more,  it  will 
require  the  preparation  that  comes  only  by  prayer. 

Follow  Up  the  Interview.  In  order  to  secure  per- 
manent results  in  this  interviewing  there  should  be  care- 
ful planning  in  advance  for  the  follow-up  of  the  first 
interview.  A  report  with  suggestions  for  later  guidance 
should  be  written  after  the  interview.  Time  for  this  is  a 
prerequisite.  Appointments  for  later  interviews  should 
be  arranged.  Successful  interviewers  make  personal 
memoranda  and  follow  up  the  conference  by  letters,  tele- 
phone calls,  and  visits  later. 

The  interview  that  most  counts  is  that  one  that  proves 
to  be  the  beginning  of  a  real,  vital,  and  continuing  friend- 
ship between  the  boy  and  man.  A  true  friend  helps  his 
friend,  by  doing  for  him,  by  giving  him  something  to  do, 
by  pointing  out  his  weaknesses  in  a  friendly  way  with  a 


THE  PLACE  AND  ART  OF  INTERVIEWING     37 

view  to  helping  him  to  overcome  them  and  by  introducing 
him  to  other  friends  of  "contagious  character-kindling 
power. ' ' 

Most  boys  need  and  profit  by  the  encouragement  that 
comes  through  the  stimulus  of  wisely  placed  confidence 
expressed  by  some  such  parting  message  as:  "I  shall 
expect  you  to  win  out;  count  upon  me  to  help  at  any 
time." 

Vocational  Forum. 

One  more  general  matter  remains  to  be  dealt  with  in 
connection  with  the  interviewing.  "Where  fifty  to  a  hun- 
dred boys  are  being  interviewed  in  a  single  evening  by 
approximately  thirty  men,  it  is  obvious  that  more  than 
half  of  the  boys  will  be  obliged  to  wait  some  time  for 
their  interview.  If  a  supper  is  served  or  a  meeting  of  all 
the  boys  and  interviewers  held,  as  is  highly  desirable,  the 
leaders  have  from  thirty  to  sixty  boys  on  their  hands  for 
a  half  hour  or  more,  and  part  of  them  for  an  even  longer 
period.  In  the  early  campaigns,  various  devices  were 
used  to  hold  these  boys  and  properly  utilize  their  time. 
The  best  experience  points  not  to  furnishing  entertain- 
ment or  anything  of  that  sort,  but  rather  having  some  one 
man  conduct  a  sort  of  vocational  forum  for  the  first  half 
hour,  using  charts,  pamphlets,  books,  and  the  like,  or 
perhaps  if  he  is  sufficiently  experienced,  taking  the  cases 
of  some  of  the  boys  right  in  the  room  who  are  willing  to 
talk  about  their  ambitions  and  interests,  helping  the  boys 
to  understand  what  their  tendencies  are  and  giving  sug- 
gestions as  to  educational  requirements,  natural  abilities, 
and  temperamental  qualities  which  are  found  successful 
in  various  lines  of  work.  This  does  not  take  as  large  a 
knowledge  of  the  vocational  field  as  would  seem  neces- 
sary, but  a  fairly  good  acquaintance  with  boy  nature, 
some  ability  to  deal  with  boys  by  the  discussional  method, 
and  at  least  a  knowledge  of  where  information  can  be 


14850 I 


38  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

located  with  reference  to  the  great  main  divisions  of  life 
work. 

After  the  first  interviews  are  over,  some  twenty-five 
or  thirty  boys  will  leave  the  room  and  others  will  come 
back.  The  conference  can  then  be  continued  and  some- 
times lasts  the  entire  evening.  We  have  frequently  seen 
such  a  forum  begin  at  7 :  45  and  last  until  10  o  'clock 
with  only  such  interruptions  as  were  made  necessary  by 
the  shifting  of  the  group  as  the  different  interview 
appointments  are  called  out.  Many  a  boy  picks  up  as 
valuable  a  bit  of  information  or  inspiration  in  the  voca- 
tional forum  as  he  does  in  any  particular  interview. 

Jesse  B.  Davis  has  this  important  word  to  say  with 
reference  to  bringing  the  boy  to  decisions  that  involve 
action : 

"We  should  not  let  the  boy  go  without  having 
made  up  his  mind  to  some  action,  no  matter  how  ten- 
tative or  small  this  step  may  be.  I  feel  that  it  is  of 
vital  importance  to  have  him  leave  the  room  with 
his  mind  made  up  to  action.  This  action  may  be 
nothing  more  than  to  definitely  study  some  problem, 
to  do  some  reading,  to  begin  physical  exercise  to  im- 
prove his  health,  to  conquer  some  habit,  or  to  begin 
the  preparation  for  the  proposed  field  of  service.  In 
my  experience  I  feel  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  let  the 
boy  go  with  a  feeling  that  he  has  arrived  nowhere." 

Although  we  should  never  seem  to  hurry  the  boy  in  his 
decisions,  this  note  regarding  action  may  well  be  kept  in 
mind  both  in  the  individual  interviews  and  during  the 
vocational  forum. 

Following  Up  the  Interviews. 

Report  forms  are  furnished  the  interviewers  for  each 
boy.  These  are  so  arranged  as  to  be  readily  made  out 
and  to  afford  a  variety  of  information  about  the  conduct 
and  results  of  this  particular  interview.    Questions  are 


THE  PLACE  AND  ART  OF  INTERVIEWING     39 

asked  with  reference  to  outstanding  qualifications  for  a 
particular  vocation  which  the  boy  may  or  may  not  have 
revealed,  any  immediate  thing  the  boy  needs  to  do  about 
his  work,  studies,  etc.,  his  relationships  with  other  boys, 
any  moral  or  religious  matters  which  were  brought  up 
and  discussed,  and  the  very  important  question,  "With 
whom  do  you  think  this  boy  might  well  have  another 
interview?"  We  have  found  that  unless  such  a  set  of 
questions  is  furnished  the  interviewer,  his  report  is  likely 
to  be  upon  one  or  two  matters  only.  He  will  discuss  the 
boy's  educational  needs  or  some  moral  problem  or  a 
particular  occupational  matter  and  leave  all  the  others 
out,  whereas  with  the  report  form,  he  is  reminded  of 
matters  of  real  importance  which  perhaps  only  occupy 
a  moment  or  two  in  the  interview  but  give  real  evidence 
of  the  boy's  ambitions  or  cast  of  mind. 

As  mentioned  elsewhere,  it  is  most  valuable  when  the 
interviewer  and  the  boy  are  temperamentally  well  enough 
matched  and  the  interview  itself  proceeds  with  sufficient 
gripping  power  so  that  the  man  and  boy  care  to  see  each 
other  again,  for  this  obviously  makes  one  of  the  most 
valuable  possible  types  of  follow-up  work,  the  individual 
interviewer  retaining,  a  considerable  length  of  time,  his 
interest  in  and  contact  with  the  individual  boy.  Not  all 
interviews,  of  course,  will  come  out  in  this  way.  Some 
leaders  are  disturbed  when  they  find  boys  coming  back 
from  an  interview  with  a  physician,  quite  convinced  that 
they  do  not  want  to  choose  medicine  as  a  life  work.  In 
such  a  case  the  leader  should  go  over  the  matter  with  the 
boy  very  carefully,  possibly  a  valuable  element  in  his 
vocational  choice  has  been  reached.  It  is  quite  as  impor- 
tant for  a  boy  to  find  out  what  he  does  not  want  to  do, 
as  what  he  does  want  to  do.  This  is  one  reason  why  we 
have  always  favored  more  than  one  interview  per  boy, 
and  the  continuance  of  this  work  throughout  the  year,  in 
addition  to  the  occasional  concentrated  effort  during  a 


40  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

few  weeks'  time.  As  long  as  human  nature  is  as  it  is,  we 
shall  probably  continue  to  get  more  from  personal  con- 
tacts than  we  do  from  information  derived  in  any  less 
warmly  human  form.  Hence,  while  the  place  of  inter- 
viewing in  the  Find  Yourself  process  should  not  be  over- 
rated, neither  should  it  be  underrated  as  an  important 
element  in  one  of  the  greatest  decisions  a  boy  can  make. 


Chapter  VI 

ORGANIZATION  AND  SCHEDULED  APPOINT- 
MENTS OF  A  CAMPAIGN 

Although  vocational  guidance,  or  as  we  have  called  it 
in  the  Boys'  Work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, Find  Yourself  work,  has  often  been  conducted  in 
short  term  campaigns,  that  has  not  been  by  any  means 
the  ideal  of  those  most  responsible  for  its  promotion.  It 
has  seemed  to  us  that  one  of  the  experiences  which  a  boy 
should  have  in  his  contact  with  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  should  be  help  in  choosing  his  life  work. 
Whether  that  contact  be  as  a  building  member  or  in  a 
Hi-Y  Club,  an  Employed  Boys'  Brotherhood,  in  a  Chris- 
tian Citizenship  Training  group,  in  a  cooperating  church 
— as  a  part  of  his  program,  he  should  surely  have  aid  in 
the  choice  of  his  life  work.  In  spite  of  our  insistence 
that  this  should  be  a  logical  part  of  every  program  for 
older  boys,  from  year  to  year,  a  campaign  or  some  special 
effort  is  usually  necessary  to  inaugurate  such  work  and 
give  the  leader  of  boys  familiarity  with  some  of  the  more 
recent  plans  and  methods  of  helping  a  boy  in  this  great 
decision  of  life. 

Kinds  of  Campaigns. 

There  are  three  types  of  campaigns  from  the  stand- 
point of  size — First,  an  effort,  small  numerically,  which 
deals  with  from  ten  to  fifty  boys  in  a  club  or  group  of 
clubs;  second,  a  medium-sized  campaign  involving  from 
fifty  to  200  boys,  and  third,  the  large  campaign  which 
has  run  from  300  to  1,500  boys.     As  far  as  the  eduea- 


42  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

tional  technique  is  concerned,  i.e.,  approach  to  the  boy, 
enlistment  of  interviewers,  and  dealing  with  the  personal 
problems  of  the  individual  boy,  the  three  types  of  cam- 
paign do  not  greatly  differ.  But  in  matters  of  organiza- 
tion, the  amount  of  machinery,  money,  time,  and  personal 
effort  required,  there  is  an  almost  unbelievable  increase 
with  every  additional  hundred  boys  beyond  the  200 
mark. 

Why  dealing  with  1,000  boys  should  be  more  than  ten 
times  as  difficult  a  task  as  with  100,  we  do  not  know,  but 
the  fact  remains,  and  from  some  rather  strenuous  experi- 
ence. Handling  1,000  boys  in  a  Find  Yourself  Campaign 
involves  the  entire  time  of  a  skilful  promoter  for  a  period 
of  months,  and  the  volunteer  activity,  in  blocks  of  time 
large  and  small,  of  at  least  200  to  300  men  including 
committeemen,  analyzers  of  blanks,  speakers,  inter- 
viewers, etc.  Some  organizations,  though  having  large 
resources  in  men  and  money,  prefer  to  deal  with  150 
or  200  boys  per  year,  while  others  have  found  that  a  very 
large  campaign  challenges  the  attention  of  many  boys 
who  are  not  reached  without  city- wide  publicity,  and  in 
addition  interests  large  numbers  of  men  in  the  varied 
problems  of  boyhood. 

Three  kinds  of  campaign  from  the  standpoint  of  ad- 
ministration are  also  to  be  considered.  Type  No.  1  is  that 
campaign  administered  hy  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  and  for  boys  in  the  building  membership,  or 
among  boys  of  the  neighborhood  or  industrial  brother- 
hoods or  clubs.  Type  No.  2  is  entirely  under  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
administration  but  with  an  invitation  to  churches, 
schools,  or  industries  to  have  their  boys  included  in  this 
educational  effort.  Type  No.  3,  either  small  or  large 
numerically,  is  where  the  Association  joins  on  an  equal 
basis  with  various  other  agencies,  a  city  committee  is  ap- 
pointed with  proper  sub-committees,  a  budget  provided, 
responsibility  placed,  and  the  affair  carried  on  as  a  com- 


ORGANIZATION  OF  A  CAMPAIGN  43 

munity-wide  project,  the  Association  merely  being  men- 
tioned among  the  agencies  cooperating  in  the  conduct  of 
the  campaign. 

Experienced  workers  increasingly  feel  that  campaigns 
as  herein  described  operate  best  when  under  the  direct 
supervision  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
The  character-building  values  are  better  preserved  and 
the  follow-up  features  more  successfully  carried  out 
when  such  work  is  well  centered  and  responsibility  is 
definite.  However,  local  Associations  are  always  ready 
to  cooperate  with  schools,  employment  bureaus,  etc.,  in 
any  community-wide  plans  for  harmonizing  and  improv- 
ing the  vocational  direction  of  the  youth  of  our  cities, 
towns,  and  open  country. 

A  safeguard  in  an  effort  involving  large  numbers, 
whatever  the  administrative  unit  may  be,  is  to  arrange 
for  centers  of  activity  throughout  the  community.  Deal- 
ing with  1,000  boys  at  eight  or  ten  different  centers 
such  as  churches,  settlement  houses,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  build- 
ings, and  the  like,  makes  a  much  more  friendly  and  ready 
approach  to  the  boys,  gives  better  opportunity  for  the 
presentation  of  vocational  information,  divides  up  the 
work  of  analyzing  the  papers,  and  easily  discovers  large 
numbers  of  interviewers.  This  dividing  into  centers  also 
assures  a  much  better  follow-up  of  the  individual  boys 
after  the  special  effort  of  the  campaign  has  come  to  a 
close. 

Moderate-Sized  Campaigns. 

Many  of  the  suggestions  made  later  concerning  large 
campaigns  do  not  apply  in  detail  to  the  campaign  involv- 
ing from  fifty  to  200  boys.  At  the  same  time,  enough 
of  them  do  apply  to  warrant  a  careful  reading  on  the 
part  of  leaders  who  are  not  ready  to  undertake  so  large 
a  task.  All  of  the  principles  and  some  of  the  methods 
are  the  same. 


44  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

So  many  vocational-guidance  efforts  on  the  part  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  churches,  and  other 
character-building  agencies  will  be  small  in  number  of 
boys  involved  that  we  have  thought  it  wise  to  give  a 
greater  amount  of  detail  in  connection  with  the  moderate- 
sized  campaign,  types  1  and  2. 

In  outline  such  campaigns  will  hinge  on  these  factors : 

1.  The  committee  of  men. 

2.  A  committee  of  boys. 

3.  Enlistment  of  interviewers. 

4.  Securing  enrolment  of  boys. 

5.  Providing  the  necessary  budget  for  printed  matter, 
suppers,  etc. 

6.  Securing  speakers,  and  men  to  help  analyze  the 
blanks. 

7.  Coaching  the  interviewers. 

8.  Perfecting  the  system  of  handling  the  meetings 
and  interviews. 

9.  Making  sure  that  the  character-building  emphasis 
is  given  proper  place. 

10.  Following  the  boys  through  after  the  interviews. 

It  is  well  to  avoid,  as  far  as  practicable,  dates  which 
conflict  with  large  affairs  in  school  or  social  life,  out- 
standing sport  events,  and  especially  other  Association 
or  church  happenings  of  unusual  interest. 

A  Schedule  by  Days. 

After  observing  campaigns  in  many  parts  of  the 
United  States  with  all  types  of  boys,  city,  rural,  school, 
employed,  native  Americans,  European  immigrants.  Ori- 
entals, etc.,  the  following  schedule  seems  to  be  most 
efficient  for  the  moderate-sized  campaign.  The  selection 
of  days  is  of  course  arbitrary,  but  beginning  Friday  and 
closing  the  active  part  of  the  campaign  on  the  second 
Sunday  has  proved  satisfactory  in  experience. 


OEGANIZATION  OF  A  CAMPAIGN  45 

The  First  Fridaij. 

5 :  30  p.m.  Meeting  of  men 's  committee  with  cam- 
paign leaders. 

6 :  30  p.m.  Supper  meeting  of  the  boys  enlisted  for 
the  campaign,  the  committee  of  boys,  and  the  com- 
mittee of  men. 

7 :  15  p.m.  Program  of  not  more  than  two  speeches, 
one  to  be  made  by  the  visiting  campaign  leader, 
when  such  outside  leadership  is  obtained. 

7  :  55  p.m.  Announcement  by  chairman  or  local  secre- 
tary regarding  the  group  meetings  to  follow. 

8 :  00  p.m.  Congenial  groups  of  from  ten  to  twenty 
boys  meeting  with  a  member  of  the  men 's  commit- 
tee to  receive  their  blanks  and  begin  their  own 
self-analysis. 

Committeemen  collect  completely  filled  blanks 
and  record  the  names  of  boys  who  take  blanks 
home  for  further  study.  Frequently  boys  are  glad 
to  take  an  extra  blank  and  interest  a  boy  not 
reached  by  the  campaign  thus  far. 

9 :  00  p.m.  Brief  meeting  of  committee  of  boys  to 
arrange  for  getting  the  blanks  back  and  to  make 
plans  for  a  100  per  cent  attendance  on  the  big 
interview  night  a  week  later. 

Between  Meetings. 

Throughout  the  week  by  announcement  at  club  meet- 
ings, gymnasium  classes,  through  articles  in  newspapers, 
by  letters  and  personal  contacts,  keep  up  the  interest 
among  the  boys. 

Follow  up  any  blanks  that  are  out  and  have  the  boys' 
committee  bring  them  in. 

Check  up  on  the  interviewers  and  analyzers,  reaching 
each  man  directly  or  through  members  of  the  men 's  com- 
mittee. 

Arrange  for  the  supper  or  other  meeting  preceding  the 
interviews. 


46  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

On  Thursday. 

Proceed  with  the  analyzing  of  hlanks,  securing  new- 
interviewers  as  the  boys'  cases  reveal  new  needs.  See 
Chapter  IV,  entire,  and  in  Chapter  VI,  the  topic,  "Most 
Important  Days. ' ' 

The  Second  Friday. 

9  :  00  a.m.  Campaign  leader  meets  with  visiting  secre- 
taries, men's  committee,  educational  secretary, 
etc.,  and  together  they  spend  the  entire  day  mak- 
ing final  analysis  of  the  boys'  blanks,  scheduling 
interviewers,  and  aiding  the  local  leader  in  all 
arrangements  for  the  evening. 

5 :  30  p.m.  Blanks  should  all  be  analyzed  before  this 
hour  and  careful  comments  made  on  each.  These 
are  handed  out  by  the  committee  to  the  inter- 
viewers as  they  arrive. 

6 :  00  p.m.  Brief  meeting  with  the  interviewers  when 
the  Find  Yourself  Idea  is  explained  and  inter- 
viewers' report  blanks  issued,  instructions  and 
suggestions  given  about  the  interviews,  and  ques- 
tions answered.  Time  should  be  reserved  here  for 
a  season  of  prayer  with  reference  both  to  the  voca- 
tional and  religious  aspects  of  the  interviewer's 
work. 

6 :  30  p.m.  Supper  with  boys,  visiting  secretaries, 
interviewers,  and  committees. 

7  :  15  p.m.  Ten-minute  inspirational  talk  by  a  visiting 
secretary  or  one  of  the  leaders.  Introduction  of 
the  interviewers  by  merely  reading  the  name  of 
each  man,  telling  his  line  of  work  and  calling  on 
the  first  boy  whom  he  is  to  interview.  This  gives 
opportunity  for  all  the  boys  to  see  all  the  inter- 
viewers and  the  interviewer  to  recognize  his  first 
boy.  Announcements  and  adjournment  to  the 
interviewing  rooms. 

7 :  30-10 :  00  p.m.  Interview  period.  A  headquarters 
room,  from  which  the  interview  work  is  directed. 


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ORGANIZATION  OF  A  CAMPAIGN  47 

is  useful  as  a  place  to  center  the  attention  of  boys 
awaiting  appointments.  Here  should  be  placed 
vocational  charts,  books,  and  pamphlets.  The 
boys  enjoy  trying  certain  mental  tests,  and  occa- 
sionally discover  some  useful  information  about 
themselves.  The  local  Boys'  Work  Secretary  and 
two  other  leaders  are  needed  at  the  headquarters 
room  the  entire  evening. 

Saturday. 

Throughout  the  day,  follow-up  work  can  be  com- 
menced, interviewers'  reports  examined,  further 
interviews  held,  and  occasionally  boys  visited  at 
their  homes  or  places  of  employment. 

Sunday* 

Religious  meeting  for  older  boys  addressed  by  men 
connected  with  the  campaign.  Here  the  evangelis- 
tic message  can  be  used  especially  with  the  social 
Christianity  emphasis.  This  meeting  supplements 
in  a  satisfactory  way  the  work  done  in  the  inter- 
views. 

Most  Important  Days.f 

There  may  be  a  time  during  the  week  in  which  the  Find 
Yourself  effort  actually  centers  when  the  men  responsible 
for  its  success  may  be  able  to  choose  between  attending  to 
a  detail  today  or  getting  it  done  tomorrow.  That  time 
is  past  at  9 :  00  a.m.  on  the  day  preceding  the  interview 
period.  From  that  point  until  the  last  report  is  received 
at  the  close  of  the  interviews,  about  thirty-six  hours  later, 
there  is  not  a  moment  to  be  lost  nor  an  item  which  can  be 
postponed.     There  are  four  outstanding  things  which 

*  This  arraogement  is  obviously  for  those  campaigns  held  under 
the  direct  auspices  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  or  a 
combination  of  agencies  which  can  readily  agree  upon  matters  of 
religious  education  and  methods  of  character-building  work. 

t  Suggestions  by  Harry  T.  Baker. 


48  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

demand  attention  in  these  days.  They  are  outlined  below 
in  detail.  In  addition,  there  are  many  matters  which 
must  be  checked  up  finally  and  these  are  listed  briefly. 
Each  one  is  important  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  space 
given  it  here,  and  those  in  charge  of  the  campaign  will 
do  well  to  get  these  matters  settled  as  early  as  possible. 

1.     Preparing  Blanks  for  the  Interviewers. 

All  blanks  must  be  carefully  analyzed.  Suggestions 
to  those  doing  this  work  will  be  found  in  Chapter  IV. 
If  the  interview  period  is  to  occur  on  a  Friday  evening, 
for  example,  the  analyzing  of  the  blanks  should  begin 
not  later  than  Thursday  morning.  Should  the  blanks 
total  much  over  100  or  if  the  number  of  men  enlisted  for 
this  important  service  is  small,  the  work  of  analyzing 
should  be  a  day  or  even  two  days  earlier.  If  the  analyz- 
ing is  not  under  way  on  schedule  time  all  the  other  work 
which  must  be  handled  in  these  last  hours  will  be  dis- 
organized. Theoretically,  five  men  analyzing  from  nine 
to  twelve  o'clock  and  from  two  to  five,  might  cover  100 
blanks,  but  interruptions  are  bound  to  occur  and  delays 
are  frequent.  New  men  have  to  be  introduced  to  the 
process. 

Certain  blanks  prove  difficult  and  unrewarding  at 
first  study  and  may  need  reviewing  by  a  second  or  a 
third  man.  There  is  a  real  temptation  to  call  the  atten- 
tion of  other  workers  to  some  particularly  interesting 
answer  one  has  discovered.  The  work,  though  fascinat- 
ing, is  tiring,  because  it  must  be  done  with  a  care  which 
demands  concentration  and  uses  up  mental  energy.  For 
these  and  other  reasons  ample  time  and  an  adequate 
number  of  helpers  should  be  available.  This  work  care- 
lessly done  handicaps  the  man  who  interviews  the  boy 
and  cheats  the  boy  who  has  taken  time  to  fill  out  the 
blank.     In  fact,  it  may  result  in  the  assignment  of  the 


ORGANIZATION  OF  A  CAMPAIGN 


49 


wrong  interviewer  impairing  or  even  nullifying  the  whole 
effort. 

2.     Assigning  Interviewers  to  Boys. 

When  the  analyzing  of  the  blanks  begins,  there  should 
be  on  hand,  in  duplicate,  a  list  of  the  boys.  This  should 
be  arranged  in  the  following  form : 


Boys'  List. 


Boy's  Name 


Address 


Interviewer's  Name 


Andersen,  Carl       302  Smith  Street      J.  D.  Williams 
Barton,  John  110  ]\Iain  Street        W.  S.  Smith 

Cafarelli,  Victor     423  Sixth  Street       H.  P.  Vernon 

There  should  also  be  on  hand,  in  duplicate,  a  list  of 
interviewers.  It  will  be  convenient  to  use  the  following 
form: 

Interviewers'  List. 

Showing  place  of  interview,  name  of  interviewer,  voca- 
tion, business  address,  telephone,  and  boys  assigned  by 
periods. 


Room  12     J.  D.  Williams      Engineer 


461  Division  St. 
Phone  286 


Period  1 


Period  2 

Room  41       W.  S.  Smith 

Period  1 


Period  3 
Period  4 
Period  5 

Doctor 


339  Randolph  St. 
Phone  4210 


Period  3 
Period  4 
Period  5 


Period  2 

A  person  well  acquainted  with  the  interviewers  should 
handle  these  lists.  After  each  man  finishes  analyzing  a 
blank  he  should  consult  with  the  one  in  charge  of  the 


50  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

lists  and  the  assignment  of  the  most  appropriate  inter- 
viewer should  be  made  and  the  proper  information  as  to 
the  place  for  the  interview  should  be  noted.  At  this 
time  the  name  of  the  boy  should  be  entered  in  the  space 
provided  on  the  interviewers'  list  and  the  interviewer's 
name  should  be  entered  in  the  space  provided  on  the 
boys '  list.  If  rooms  are  not  available  for  all,  some  alcove 
or  corner  may  be  used  if  it  is  quiet  and  free  from  inter- 
ruptions. With  the  most  careful  preliminary  enlistment 
of  interviewers,  occasion  frequently  arises  where  a  par- 
ticular type  of  interviewer  not  already  secured  is  needed. 
The  responsibility  for  securing  this  man  or  these  men 
should  be  immediately  placed  and  a  serious  search  should 
be  begun  at  once. 

3.     Meeting  of  Interviewers. 

Essential  to  the  success  of  any  Find  Yourself  effort  is  a 
meeting  of  the  men  who  are  to  interview.  This  is  gen- 
erally held  at  5 :  30  0  'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  inter- 
views, but  may  well  be  preceded  where  possible  by  a 
preliminary  meeting.  At  this  meeting  the  men  should 
be  helped  to  see  the  importance  of  their  evening's  work, 
some  of  the  results  which  may  be  expected,  and  certain 
of  the  problems  which  the  interview  involves  and  how 
other  men  have  successfully  met  these  problems.  This 
talk  should  be  given  by  someone  who  can  put  the  proper 
amount  of  inspiration  into  it.  There  should  be  a  time 
for  general  conference  and  answering  questions.  At  this 
meeting  the  blanks  assigned  to  the  interviewers  should 
be  given  out  and  care  should  be  taken  to  acquaint  each 
man  with  the  place  assigned  for  his  interview  and  exactly 
how  to  reach  it. 

A  supper  should  follow  the  meeting,  preferably  with 
the  boys,  as  outlined  below.  The  chairman  of  the  Find 
Yourself  Campaign  should  preside  at  the  meeting  and  the 
supper,  and  details  should  be  so  well  in  hand  that  by  the 


OEGANIZATION  OF  A  CAMPAIGN  51 

close  of  the  supper  period  the  schedule  of  interviews  can 
begin  to  operate  without  delay. 

The  bane  of  all  Find  Yourself  Campaigns  is  the  man 
who  accepts  the  position  of  interviewer  and  at  the  last 
minute  phones  that  his  wife  has  arranged  a  social  affair, 
his  business  demands  his  attention,  or  that  he  had  for- 
gotten some  conflicting  date  when  he  accepted.  By  per- 
sistent checking  up  and  by  sufficiently  stressing  the  obli- 
gation to  be  present,  the  number  of  these  absentees  can  be 
reduced  to  a  minimum.  Certainly  the  fewer  there  are 
the  better,  for  blanks  have  all  been  assigned  (having 
especially  in  mind  the  qualifications  of  this  man  for  inter- 
viewing certain  boys),  names  have  been  entered,  and 
filing  cards  made  out.  If  a  man  fails,  all  of  this  has  to 
be  adjusted,  and  it  is  a  very  difficult  thing  to  do  at  that 
last  minute.  In  any  case,  it  is  well  to  have  in  reserve 
three  or  four  of  the  best  general  interviewers  to  take  over 
such  boys  as  may  be  necessary,  but  great  care  should  be 
used.  To  assign  a  boy  who  shows  a  marked  tendency 
toward  some  particular  line  of  work  to  a  man  who  is  able 
to  meet  him  only  on  a  very  general  basis  is  unfortunate. 
All  his  aroused  hopes  may  be  blasted.  It  would  be  much 
better,  where  necessary,  to  explain  to  the  boy  that  the 
particular  interviewer  chosen  for  him  had  failed,  and 
that  a  special  date  would  be  arranged.  In  this  case  the 
boy's  time  should  be  the  governing  factor  and  the  orig- 
inal man  or  another  of  similar  qualifications  should  be 
dated  to  meet  the  boy. 

4.     Getting  the  Interviews  Started. 

The  problem  of  connecting  the  boy  with  the  man  at  the 
proper  time  must  be  faced.  A  most  satisfactory  plan  is 
as  follows :  The  interview  evening  from  7  :  30  to  10  o'clock 
is  divided  into  five  periods  of  twenty-five  minutes  each, 
allowing  five  minutes  for  changing.  These  periods  are 
numbered  from  one  to  five.    When  assignments  are  com- 


52  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

plete  a  card  of  filing  size  is  made  out  for  each  boy,  using 
the  form  given  below : 

Boy's  Card. 
Andersen,  Carl 

Interviewer — J.  D.  Williams 
Room  12 
Period  1 

There  should  be  a  general  meeting  (at  supper  if  possi- 
ble) of  all  boys  and  men  just  preceding  the  actual  inter- 
views. This  is  much  better  than  having  the  boys  go 
directly  to  meet  the  men,  as  there  is  much  to  be  gained  by 
bringing  all  together  for  a  few  minutes  of  announcement 
and  a  short  inspirational  message,  and  a  general  intro- 
duction of  all  the  interviewers  to  the  boys.  As  the  boys 
arrive  they  should  apply  at  tables  near  the  entrance  to 
the  room,  where  each  receives  his  card  described  above. 
If  the  number  of  boys  is  large  the  cards  may  be  divided, 
A  to  M  at  one  table  and  N  to  Z  at  another.  There  is  a 
fine  opportunity  to  use  a  committee  of  older  boys  as 
guides  during  the  evening. 

After  the  preliminaries  the  boys  holding  cards  marked 
"Period  1"  are  asked  to  rise.  With  their  interviewers 
they  then  go  directly  to  their  places.  The  other  boys  who 
are  scheduled  for  later  periods  remain  to  study  the 
exhibits  of  charts  and  books  and  to  talk  with  the  coun- 
selors who  are  in  charge  of  the  assembly  room.  The  men 
who  perform  this  service  should  be  carefully  chosen. 
Frequently  the  time  spent  in  the  general  room  proves  as 
helpful  to  the  boy  as  the  interview  itself,  provided  this 
part  of  the  program  is  properly  planned.  At  the  end  of 
the  first  interview  boys  holding  cards  marked  "Period 
2"  leave  for  their  interviews  and  the  boys  in  the  first 
section  return  to  the  general  room  to  remain  as  long  as 


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54  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

they  care  to.  At  the  end  of  another  half  hour  "Period 
3"  boys  are  called.  This  process  is  repeated  until  the 
fifth  period  is  called  at  9 :  30,  if  the  number  of  boys  per 
man  makes  so  many  periods  necessary. 

The  cards  not  called  for  at  the  door  give  an  exact 
record  of  those  who  failed  to  come  for  their  interviews, 
and  some  special  effort  should  be  made  to  follow  up  these 
boys. 

The  supper  plan  of  meeting  has  been  found  most 
desirable  for  inaugurating  the  interview  periods.  A 
supper  with  both  boys  and  men  present  makes  it  possible 
for  many  of  the  boys  to  meet  the  men  personally  and  for 
all  of  them  to  see  those  who  will  meet  them  in  the  inter- 
views. This  has  a  very  fine  effect  on  the  whole  result, 
and  every  effort  should  be  made  to  carry  out  the  supper 
plan.  In  this  case  all  of  the  work  outlined  above  for 
getting  under  way  may  be  carried  out  at  the  close  of  the 
supper  period. 

5,     Summary  and  Check-Up. 

The  process  of  preparing  blanks,  assigning  and  listing 
interviewers,  holding  the  meeting  of  interviewers,  and 
actually  inaugurating  the  interview  periods  has  been 
covered  above.  While  these  important  factors  in  the 
campaign  are  being  cared  for,  someone  must  be  giving 
attention  to  many  details.  Experience  indicates  that  the 
following  items  must  be  checked  up  in  the  thirty-six 
hours  preceding  the  interviews.  IMany  of  them  will  have 
been  finally  settled  before,  but  those  in  charge  need  assure 
themselves  that  such  is  the  case. 

A  last  postal  card  or  letter  to  boys  participating, 
reminding  them  of  their  engagement. 

Story  of  the  campaign  and  announcement  of  the 
interview  night  in  the  local  papers.  This  should 
appear  in  the  evening  papers  of  the  day  preceding 
the  interviews  and  in  the  morning  papers  of  the 


OEGANIZATION  OF  A  CAMPAIGN  55 

date  on  which  the  interviews  occur.  The  proper 
publicity  here  will  supplement  the  notices  sent  to 
the  boys. 

Check  up,  by  telephone  and  personally,  the  attend- 
ance of  all  who  are  to  have  any  part  in  the  work 
throughout  the  day  and  in  the  evening. 

Follow  up  the  committee  of  older  boys  who  have 
agreed  to  help,  in  order  to  insure  their  presence 
on  time  and  their  acquaintance  with  their  duties. 

Review  all  arrangements  for  the  headquarters  room. 
This  room  should  be  a  friendly  place,  large  enough 
to  accommodate  the  boys  and  men,  but  not  too 
large. 

Go  over  all  arrangements  made  for  the  exhibit  of 
posters,  books,  charts,  etc.,  in  the  headquarters 
room. 

Review  the  program  for  the  general  meeting  and  the 
part  the  counselors  are  to  take  in  dealing  with 
boys  waiting  for  interviews. 

Check  up  the  places  assigned  for  interviews.  Be 
sure  that  arrangements  are  made  for  the  rooms  to 
be  unlocked  and  that  in  each  place  there  is  pro- 
vided at  least  a  table  and  two  chairs. 

Go  over  all  arrangements  for  the  interviewers'  meet- 
ing and  the  supper.  With  the  chairman  plan  care- 
fully the  program  so  that  there  may  be  no  delays 
and  yet  nothing  be  overlooked. 

Be  sure  that  during  the  day  someone  is  securing  any 
additional  interviewers  needed  as  indicated  from 
the  study  of  the  boys'  blanks. 


66  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

Materials  Necessary  for  a  Moderate-Sized  Campaign: 

1.  Boys'  Enrolment  Card — printed  locally. 

2.  Interviewers'  Enrolment  Card — printed  locally. 

3.  Advertising  Folder  adapted  to  both  men  and  boys 
— printed  locally. 

4.  Self- Analysis  Blank. 

5.  Interviewers'  Report  Blank. 

6.  Boy 's  Assignment  Card — 3  x  5  white  cards,  typed, 
are  sufficient. 

7.  Interviewer 's  Assignment  Card — 3  x  5  white  cards, 
typed,  are  sufficient. 

8.  Exhibit  of  Charts — Books — Pamphlets  on  Voca- 
tional Subjects  (desirable  but  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary). 

9.  Some  Inspirational  Pamphlet,  such  as  "Where 
Will  You  Be  Ten  Years  from  Today." 

10.  A  Folder  for  Interviewers  like : 

(a)  "Prolonging  the  Period  of  Adolescence  for 

Employed  Boys" — Fiske. 

(b)  "Most  Remarkable   Generation   of  Boys" — 

Mott. 

(c)  "Helping  a  Boy  to  Find  Himself" — Foster. 

(See  Chapter  V  for  copy.) 

Large  Campaigns. 

In  a  Find  Yourself  Campaign  involving  300  to  1,500 
boys,  many  matters  become  serious  which  in  a  small  cam- 
paign are  merely  points  for  careful  attention.  Hence 
elaboration  of  method  and  building  up  of  considerable 
campaign  machinery  are  absolutely  essential.  Most  of 
the  larger  campaigns  have  been  among  employed  boys, 
but  now  high-school  boys  are  being  included  in  many 
places,  therefore  careful  coordination  with  the  school 
authorities  must  at  all  times  be  maintained.  In  any 
effort  that  approximates  being  city-wide,  employers  too 
must  be  consulted  and  planned  with  quite  differently 
than  when  the  campaign  includes  comparatively  few  boys 
and  not  many  from  any  one  place  of  emploj'ment.    Fre- 


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OEGANIZATION  OF  A  CAMPAIGN  59 

quently  in  large  campaigns  a  high  school,  or  a  big  indus- 
trial or  commercial  company,  asks  that  all  or  a  certain 
group  of  their  boys  be  allowed  to  enter  with  the  under- 
standing that  their  teachers,  or  foremen,  personnel  direc- 
tors, etc.,  shall  have  a  part  in  the  work,  particularly  in 
connection  with  their  own  boys.  High  schools  have  fre- 
quently asked  to  have  100  seniors  included  or  a  whole 
class,  and  business  concerns  have  undertaken  to  conduct 
a  section  of  their  own  including  as  many  as  300  employes 
in  one  plant.  Ordinarily  this  has  worked  out  satis- 
factorily. 

From  the  printed  matter  and  reports  of  such  large 
campaigns  and  observation  of  their  conduct  and  results, 
the  following  organization  seems  to  be  t}T)ical  and  effec- 
tive, whether  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  Young  Men 's 
Christian  Association  alone  or  where  a  cooperative  cam- 
paign is  conducted  with  many  agencies  participating. 

Organization  Plan. 
Form  A — Centralized.  Form  B — Decentralized. 

Executive   Committee  General  committee  made  up 

made  up  of  chairmen  of  of  chairmen  of  sectional  com- 
sub-committees,  viz. :  mittees  with  some  additional 

Finance.  members : 

Promotion.  Chairman  District  1. 

Printed  Matter.  ''  "        2. 

Interviewers.  "  "        3. 

Publicity.  "  "       4.,  etc. 

Analysis  and  Assign-  Speakers  Bureau. 

ment.  Analyzing  Committee. 

Speakers.  Coaching  Interviewers. 

Meeting  Places.  Printed  Matter. 

Finance. 
Publicity. 

Each  district  committee  can 
subdivide  its  work  according 
to  the  size  of  its  task,  supple- 
mented by  the  committees  on 
finance,  publicity,  etc. 


60  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

When  a  big  campaign  is  decentralized,  it  practically 
becomes  eight  or  ten  Find  Yourself  efforts  for  100  or 
200  boys  each,  proceeding  simultaneously  and  in  a 
cooperative  manner.  Added  to  all  the  local  efforts,  each 
section  is  aided  by  the  other  and  the  city-wide  commit- 
tee's various  efforts.  If  these  contacts  are  helpful,  and 
not  domineering  in  spirit,  such  a  decentralized  campaign 
is  usually  successful.  There  are  certain  advantages  in  a 
big  city-wide  campaign.  It  arouses  public  interest  in  the 
vocational  problems  of  boys.  Just  after  the  war  a  banker 
in  a  prominent  eastern  city  gave  two  months '  continuous 
time  to  the  campaign  in  his  city,  turning  his  regular  work 
over  to  his  associates,  explaining  that  he  could  think  of  no 
more  productive  contribution  which  he  could  make  to  his 
city's  reconstruction  program  than  to  have  a  leading 
part  in  this  movement  to  give  vocational  and  character- 
building  direction  to  1,500  of  his  own  city's  employed 
boys. 

Again  a  large  campaign  attracts  boys  who  would  not 
be  reached  without  publicity  and  widespread  interest. 
These  are  usually  boys  who  are  not  intimately  connected 
with  any  character-building  agency.  Such  an  effort,  too, 
can  secure  from  public  libraries,  employment  bureaus, 
and  from  civic  bodies  and  educational  institutions  a 
recognition  which  the  small  campaign  manifestly  does 
not  easily  command. 

Among  the  disadvantages  of  attempting  to  deal  with 
1,000  boys  at  one  time  are  the  disproportionate  cost  in 
money  and  energy  required  to  set  up  the  machinery  of 
such  an  effort,  the  danger  of  losing  the  friendly  personal 
touch  with  each  boy,  and  the  likelihood  of  a  less  effective 
follow-up.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  several  of  the  large 
campaigns  have  been  well  followed  up.  But  when  nearly 
all  the  boys  involved  are  connected  with  some  Associa- 
tion, or  church,  or  settlement,  as  in  the  smaller  cam- 
paigns, the  follow-up  is  greatly  simplified.     The  large 


OEGANIZATION  OF  A  CAMPAIGN  61 

campaign  carried  on  in  several  well-organized  centers 
seems  to  avoid  the  greater  difficulties  encountered  in  the 
effort  involving  large  numbers. 

The  ideal  arrangement  is  where  a  campaign  large  or 
small  arouses  vocational  interest  among  boys,  acquaints 
parents  and  leaders  with  some  of  the  ways  and  means 
whereby  a  boy  can  intelligently  choose  his  life  work,  and 
where  boys  are  led  to  see  what  are  the  next  few  steps  in 
education,  character-decisions,  and  work-opportunities 
necessary  to  their  best  economic  advancement. 


Chapter  VII 
APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GROUPS  OF  BOYS 

I.    The  High-School  Boy. 

To  the  present  generation  of  high-school  boys  there  is 
offered  the  greatest  opportunity  for  human  service  in  the 
world's  history — a  service  that  is  challenging  the  older 
boys  of  the  secondary  schools  to  work  as  never  before  in 
order  to  fit  themselves  to  assume  positions  of  vital  and 
helpful  leadership  in  the  new  social  order. 

In  the  decision-making  period  of  life  they  are  commit- 
ting themselves  to  far-reaching  conclusions  for  life  in- 
vestment and  are  also  eager  to  aid  their  boy  friends  to 
decide  these  questions  intelligently. 

One  of  the  six  points  of  emphasis  in  the  rapidly  spread- 
ing Hi-Y  Movement  composed  of  older  boys  who  are 
seeking  to  extend  high  standards  of  Christian  character 
throughout  the  school  and  community  is  stated  as 

"Competent  and  helpful  counsel  concerning  the 
various  life-work  opportunities,  challenge  to  thor- 
ough preparation  for  and  the  Christian  basis  of 
enlistment  and  service  in  all  vocations,  and  leading 
boys  of  capacity  for  leadership  to  consider  as  a  life 
work  some  vocations  in  the  field  of  a  special  Chris- 
tian calling." 

To  these  boys,  then,  no  wonder  that  the  Find  Yourself 
Idea  has  strong  appeal  and  meets  with  their  eager 
cooperation ! 

For  years  school  authorities  have  been  thinking  and 
working  in  this  field.    The  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 


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APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GROUPS  OF  BOYS        63 

ciation  with  its  special  experience  and  this  special  plan 
of  friendly  vocational  guidance  is  in  no  sense  a  competi- 
tor of  the  school  leaders,  but  rather  seeks  to  cooperate 
with  and  supplement  their  work. 

In  all  vocational  guidance  work,  therefore,  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
leaders  should  keep  in  closest  contact  with  the  local  high- 
school  principals  and  teachers,  and  seek  to  work  with 
them  in  every  possible  way. 

In  many  cities  and  towns  it  will  be  possible  to  follow 
closely  the  suggestions  offered  on  previous  pages  for  the 
Find  Yourself  Campaign.  In  other  places  some  adapta- 
tions will  need  to  be  made.  For  that  reason  attention  is 
called  to  the  following : 

1.     Creating  Interest  and  Giving  Vision. 

Cooperating  with  the  school  authorities,  assistance  is 
often  rendered  by  the  Young  Men 's  Christian  Association 
leaders,  frequently  through  the  Hi-Y  Club,  by  offering 
short-term  courses  in  life-work  questions  and  by  the 
consideration  of  vocations  into  which  boys  later  may 
enter  lives  of  real  service  on  behalf  of  humanity.  Such 
topics  as  the  following  are  found  useful  for  public 
addresses,  in  the  school  assembly,  before  boys  of  the  two 
upper  classes,  or  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  or,  as  is 
often  the  case,  for  discussion  in  the  classroom,  or  after 
the  Hi-Y  Club  meetings  at  the  Association  building: 

"The  Fundamental  Principles  in  the  Choice  of 
Life  Work." 

"How  I  May  Know  for  AVhat  I  Am  Fitted." 
' '  The  Life  Opportunity  of  a  Lawyer,  a  Physician, 
a  Minister,  a  Teacher,  a  Business  Man,  a  Manufac- 
turer. ' ' 

These  different  vocations  usually  are  presented  separ- 
ately, each  by  a  local  leader  in  his  profession  or  business, 
who  leads  the  discussion  that  follows.     Obviously,  both 


64  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

the  encouraging  and  difficult  phases  of  the  vocation 
should  receive  fair  treatment.  Continuing  emphasis 
should  be  made  on  the  necessity  for  thorough  preparation 
and  the  domination  of  the  unselfish  in  whatever  life  work 
a  boy  may  finally  decide  to  enter. 

2.     The  Interview  Process. 

It  is  found  entirely  practicable,  indeed  much  more 
successful  in  many  instances,  to  place  large  responsibility 
on  a  carefully  selected  committee  of  older  boys  to ' '  book, ' ' 
or  enlist,  other  boys  who  desire  interviews  during  the 
special  week  or  days  of  the  effort.  The  personal  presenta- 
tion by  individual  boys  often  leads  a  boy  to  seek  an 
interview  when  the  public  presentation  alone  fails. 

When  the  interviews  are  confined  to  boys  in  the  senior 
class,  or  possibly  to  the  senior  and  junior  classes,  there 
has  been  found  more  intelligent  interest  and  cooperation. 
This  process  also  tends  to  keep  the  lower  classmen  inter- 
ested and,  as  later  they  come  into  the  upper  classes  them- 
selves, eager  for  similar  help. 

The  cooperation  between  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  leaders  and  the  school  authorities  is  so  close 
in  some  communities  as  to  lead  the  high-school  principals 
to  urge  and  plan  for  the  interviews  to  be  held  in  the 
school  buildings  during  school  hours.  Others  excuse  boys 
from  school  for  the  period  of  the  interview  at  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  building  or  the  office  of  the 
interviewer.  Some  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
have  rented  the  use  of  a  home  near  the  school  building 
and  scheduled  the  interviews  in  the  different  rooms. 
Frequently  interviews  are  held  in  near-by  church  or 
Sunday-school  rooms,  made  available  for  this  purpose. 

The  plan  calling  for  all  the  interviews  to  be  held  in  the 
evening,  as  with  employed  boys,  often  works  satisfac- 
torily, but  obviously  is  not  as  necessary. 


APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GEOUPS  OF  BOYS        65 

3.  The  Vocational  Forum. 

The  temptation  to  omit  this  important  part  of  the 
effort,  especially  with  high-school  boys,  will  need  to  be 
resisted  steadfastly.  It  is  true  that  much  of  the  good 
from  it  will  be  covered  if  the  suggestions  under  para- 
graph number  one  are  followed. 

However,  nothing  can  take  the  place  of  the  period 
when  adult  leaders  supervise  a  few  boys  as  they  fill  in 
their  blanks,  or  when  an  experienced  leader  conducts  an 
open  conference.  The  atmosphere  of  expectant  interest 
is  never  so  satisfactorily  created  as  when  challenging 
questions  are  asked  and  frankly  answered  as  suggested 
under  the  topic  "Vocational  Forum"  in  Chapter  V. 

Adaptation  at  this  point  to  local  conditions  is  a  pre- 
requisite to  success.  Some  places  have  used  the  forum 
plan  by  conducting  each  day  of  the  special  emphasis  a 
helpful  discussion  in  the  school  assembly,  or  senior  class- 
room, or  at  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  build- 
ing. These  take  the  form  of  a  series  on  some  such  theme 
as  "The  Quest  of  the  Best,"  with  the  following  topics 
announced  for  each  day: 

"Overcoming  Obstacles." 

' '  Intellectual  Development. ' ' 

"Why  Stay  in  School  and  Go  to  College." 

"The  Physical  Basis  for  Character." 

"Weaving  Moral  Fiber." 

' '  Spiritual  Power  to  Carry  On. ' ' 

4.  Conserving  Results  and  Continuing  Service. 

The  personal  accjuaintance  between  the  boy  and  the 
interviewer  frequently  results  in  an  invitation  to  observe 
methods  and  follow  special  study  at  his  office  or  factory. 
Friendship  is  a  continuous  process.  Every  facility  should 
be  offered  for  frequent  contacts  between  the  boy  and 
those  with  whom  he  has  interviews. 

High-school  principals  increa-singly  are  accepting  the 


66  THE  FIND  YOUKSELF  IDEA 

opportunity  for  outside  help  in  vocational  as  well  as 
character  stimulus,  by  arranging  with  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  Secretaries  to  plan  for  interviews 
for  individual  boys  with  business  and  professional  men 
at  any  time  throughout  the  school  year.  Happy  the  boy 
who  has  around  him  this  interested  and  helpful  trio  of 
adult  friends ! 

Every  decision  of  the  will  by  a  boy  in  connection  with 
this  work  must  be  given  opportunity  for  expression.  To 
the  Association  leader,  the  interviewer,  and  the  high- 
school  faculty  member  is  given  the  great  opportunity  and 
responsibility  to  help  each  boy  to  carry  on. 

5.     Extension  to  Special  High-School  Groups. 

The  Hi-Y  Club  leader  often  finds  it  thoroughly  helpful 
to  follow  the  Find  Yourself  plan  with  the  few  boys  in  his 
group.  This,  then,  simply  becomes  a  campaign  for  a 
smaller  number,  often  quite  as  profitable,  because  much 
more  intimate  and  more  easily  followed  up. 

Similarly,  high-school  teachers  are  using  the  same  plan 
with  the  boys  in  a  particular  class  or  study  group. 

The  outreach  of  the  public  high  schools  into  smaller 
places  (of  the  13,951  high  schools,  12,566  are  classified 
as  village  and  rural)  presents  an  opportunity,  on  the 
plan  suggested  for  the  lonesome  boy,  in  this  chapter, 
which  educational  and  Association  leaders  should  be  alert 
to  seize. 

II.     The  Employed  Boy. 

An  experienced  worker  with  boys  from  Europe,  after 
listening  to  our  description  of  the  Find  Yourself  Idea  in 
operation,  asked  three  significant  questions : 

First,  how  do  you  get  the  men  to  give  time  to  this 
work?    Are  they  not  interested  in  making  money? 

Second,  how  do  you  find  the  actual  jobs  for  so  many 
boys? 


APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GEOUPS  OF  BOYS        67 

Third,  do  you  have  no  difficulty  with  boys  having 
aspirations  quite  outside  of  their  immediate  social 
standing? 

The  answer  to  the  first  question  has  been  stated  fully 
in  the  opening  of  the  chapter  on  interviewing.  Men  in 
abundance  are  found  who  will  give  this  time,  especially 
to  the  employed  boy. 

In  answer  to  his  second  question,  we  stated  our  obser- 
vation, indicating  that  not  more  than  ten  per  cent  of  the 
boys  in  a  given  Find  Yourself  Campaign  make  any  imme- 
diate change  in  their  work.  What  jobs  we  do  need  are 
usually  found  readily  enough  through  the  interviewers 
and  committeemen  who  have  been  interested  during  the 
campaign.  Occasionally  a  boy  is  obliged  to  go  to  another 
city  or  to  the  country,  as  in  the  case  of  a  boy  who  recently 
was  advised  by  a  city  banker  to  go  into  a  town  or  small 
city  bank  where  he  could  more  quickly  learn  the  yarious 
elements  of  banking.  Arrangement  was  made  readily 
enough  for  the  boy  to  do  this. 

The  European  worker's  third  question  would  of  course 
be  a  much  more  difficult  one  to  answer  in  older  countries 
where  the  social  strata  are  more  clearly  defined.  In  the 
"Western  Hemisphere,  we  never  stop  to  think  what  a  boy 's 
father  is,  so  long  as  he  gives  evidence  of  having  capacity 
for  the  task  to  which  his  ambition  points.  The  other 
night  we  were  helping  some  colored  boys  fill  out  their 
blanks.  The  writer  looked  over  a  boy's  shoulder  and  saw 
his  first  choice  for  vocation,  which  was  physician.  Glanc- 
ing along  the  questions,  we  noticed  in  answer  to  the  one 
about  the  father's  employment,  the  word  waiter.  Inquir- 
ing of  the  local  secretary,  we  discovered  that  the  boy  had 
excellent  capacity,  is  a  good  student,  maintains  high 
marks  at  school,  and  gives  no  indication  of  any  reason 
why  he  should  not  aspire  to  be  a  physician.  His  father 
is  a  waiter  in  a  restaurant,  but  the  colored  people  in  the 
great  city  where  he  lives  greatly  need  physicians  of  their 


68  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

own  race.  Therefore  this  boy  who  goes  to  school  and 
works  part  time  can  logically  enough  make  his  plans  for 
securing  a  medical  education  and  eventually  find  a  place 
of  great  usefulness  among  his  own  race. 

The  particular  type  of  vocational  guidance  known  as 
the  Find  Yourself  Idea  was  first  worked  out  among 
employed  boys.  It  seems  to  fit  their  situation  to  a 
nicety.  They  are  not  under  the  constant  leadership  of 
idealistic  men  and  women  as  are  the  school  boys.  All  too 
few  of  them  are  connected  with  the  churches  and  Sunday 
schools.  A  system  which  inspires  and  aids  them  to  look 
themselves  straight  in  the  face  and  catalogue  their  suc- 
cesses and  failures,  their  capacities,  and  interests,  a  system 
moreover  that  urges  them  not  to  overlook  for  a  moment 
the  handicaps  of  inadequate  education  or  lack  of  financial 
backing,  is  manifestly  a  method  of  the  greatest  value  to 
the  employed  boy.  When  in  addition  it  helps  him  view 
vocation  not  only  from  the  standpoint  of  being  the  means 
by  which  he  can  earn  his  living,  but  also  the  manner  in 
which  he  makes  his  particular  contribution  to  the  great 
necessary  work  of  life,  that  system  can  play  a  part  of 
major  importance. 

Universality  of  Talent. 

Little  enough  has  been  said  in  this  volume  about  what 
is  sometimes  termed  "the  universality  of  talent" — the 
known  fact  that  there  lies  buried  under  the  crust  of 
circumstances  much  of  the  finest  human  material  in  our 
nation.  There  used  to  be  a  theory  quite  currently  be- 
lieved that  if  a  boy  had  high  ability  or  genius,  it  would 
burst  up  through  whatever  layers  of  neglect  and  misfor- 
tune lay  above  it  and  make  its  presence  knoT\Ti  to  the 
rest  of  the  world.  Lester  Ward  in  his  "Applied  Soci- 
ology, ' '  and  Alfred  Odin  in  his  remarkable  studies  of  the 
leading  men  of  France,  reaching  back  through  a  period 
of  500  years,  have  established  in  the  minds  of  thinking 


APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GROUPS  OF  BOYS        69 

men,  the  great  fact  of  almost  unlimited  resources  in 
talent  and  ability  of  which  the  world  is  not  now  able  to 
take  advantage.  Especially  in  the  working-boy  mass 
then  is  the  Find  Yourself  Idea  applicable,  for  we  care 
not  a  whit  whether  the  boy 's  father  is  a  ditch  digger  or  a 
physician;  we  know  that  there  may  be  buried  down 
underneath  his  rough  clothing  and  crude  exterior,  the 
heart  of  a  Lincoln,  the  brain  of  an  Edison,  the  organ- 
izing genius  of  a  Woolworth.  Fosdick  in  his  **  Meaning 
of  Service ' '  uses,  in  this  connection,  the  following  pointed 
illustration : 

'  *  So,  though  a  plank  thrown  on  the  sward  have  but 
a  single  nail  hole  in  it,  some  aspiring  blade  of  grass 
will  find  it  and  come  up  from  the  o])scurity  and 
darkness  underneath  to  rejoice  in  the  splendor  of  the 
sun.  But  one  who  sees,  with  understanding  eyes,  that 
miracle  of  individual  triumph,  cannot  be  content. 
Consider  all  the  dead  and  withered  grass  for  which 
no  way  of  escape  was  found!  So  blighting  condi- 
tions lie  across  the  lives  of  millions  of  folk  today 
alike  in  heathendom  and  Christendom.  Here  and 
there  some  few  break  through  to  liberty.  But  the 
crushed  multitudes — how  can  a  disciple  of  Jesus 
think  of  them  with  equanimity  ? ' ' 

As  long  ago  as  before  the  days  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, Thomas  Gray,  one  of  the  sweetest  singers  that  the 
English  people  have  ever  produced,  wrote  the  well-known 
lines : 

"Full  many  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene 
The  dark  unfathom'd  caves  of  ocean  bear. 
Full  many  a  flow'r  is  born  to  blush  unseen, 
And  waste  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air, ' ' 

Today  not  only  do  earth  and  ocean  give  up  their 
treasures  for  man's  use  but  man  is  learning  to  dig  deep 
into  the  storehouses  of  humanity  and  find  there  un- 


70  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

dreamed-of  talents  and  abilities  for  the  improvement  of 
civilization  and  the  enrichment  of  individual  human  life. 
The  idealists  have  always  believed  it,  now  scientific  men 
have  proved  the  wonderful  resources  buried  in  the  human 
mind  and  heart. 

We  can  almost  invariably  depend  on  the  sympathy  and 
interest  of  employers.  When  a  campaign  brings  us  in 
contact  with  boys  largely  from  one  great  industrial  estab- 
lishment, or  in  what  is  knowai  as  a  one-industry  com- 
munity, like  a  cotton-mill  village  or  a  shoe-factory  city, 
employers  or  personnel  directors  usually  bring  up  the 
subject  of  labor  turnover.  "Will  this  not  unsettle  our 
boys  and  make  them  all  want  to  change  their  jobs?"  is  a 
question  often  asked  and  fairly  so.  In  a  recent  campaign 
in  New  York  City,  this  was  faced  by  personnel  directors 
in  the  great  insurance  companies  and  banks  in  the  finan- 
cial district.  The  general  conclusion  was  that  the  work 
was  to  be  done  so  carefully  that,  rather  than  unsettling 
boys,  it  would  settle  many  of  them  and  show  them  splen- 
did opportunities  in  the  places  where  they  were  then 
employed.  And  for  boys  who  were  evidently  not  fitted 
for  a  particular  line  of  work,  it  was  decided  that  it  would 
be  much  better  for  the  boys  and  for  the  concern  to  dis- 
cover as  quickly  as  possible  for  what  task  that  particular 
boy  was  fitted. 

We  have  always  held  ourselves  ready,  if  a  concern 
employing  a  large  number  of  boys  so  desired,  to  set  the 
campaign  up  within  that  concern,  letting  them  furnish 
their  own  interviewers  to  show  the  boys  the  future  possi- 
bilities with  that  particular  company  or  line  of  work. 
We  always  have  reserved  the  right,  however,  where  boys 
were  found  not  suited  to  a  particular  business,  to  help 
them  discover  logical  types  of  life  work  elsewhere.  This 
has,  in  several  cases,  been  done,  the  company  furnishing 
its  own  interviewers  except  certain  general  counselors 
who  were   evidently  needed.      In   our   observation   the 


APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GROUPS  OF  BOYS    71 

result  has  not  been  much  different  than  when  the  inter- 
viewing was  done  by  men  on  the  outside,  for  it  is  a 
characteristic  of  these  campaigns  that  the  interviewers 
become  exceedingly  conscientious  and  give  advice  and 
counsel  with  the  greatest  caution.  Instead  of  unsettling 
boys,  the  very  opposite  result  has  been  true  of  practically 
every  campaign  of  which  we  have  had  personal  knowl- 
edge. One  reason  for  this  slight  effect  on  labor  turnover 
is  that  many  of  the  boys  choose  occupations  which  their 
age  or  their  educational  equipment  makes  it  impossible 
for  them  to  enter  immediately. 

Therefore  if  thirty-three  per  cent  of  the  boys  in  a  cam- 
paign discover  that  they  ought  to  be  in  some  other  line  of 
work,  very  few  of  them  can,  in  the  nature  of  the  situa- 
tion, make  any  immediate  change.  We  usually  advise 
them,  if  their  present  work  is  at  all  congenial  and 
remunerative,  to  stay  where  they  are  while  they  are 
getting  the  necessary  equipment  for  the  bigger  jobs 
ahead. 

After  the  big  campaign  among  employed  boys  in 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  one  of  the  leaders  touched  on  this  point 
in  the  following  statement  regarding  publicity : 

' '  The  main  drive  of  the  publicity  should  be  to  sell 
the  campaign  to  the  boy.  There  should  be  no  doubt 
in  the  mind  of  any  boy  who  reads  the  paper  that  the 
campaign  is  open  to  any  working  boy  in  the  city, 
that  it  costs  him  nothing,  that  it  is  run  by  a  group 
of  disinterested  business  men  with  nothing  up  their 
sleeves.  In  the  early  part  of  a  campaign,  it  would 
be  well,  through  the  publicity  also,  to  convince  the 
employers  that  anything  in  the  interest  of  the  boy 
is  also  in  their  interest,  and  that  the  experience  of 
other  campaigns  proves  that  no  undesirable  unrest 
among  the  boys  is  created,  but  that  exactly  the 
opposite  effect  results." 

It  is  not  more  difficult  to  deal  with  employed  than  school- 


72  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

boys  after  they  are  found,  but  it  is  sometimes  more  diffi- 
cult to  find  the  boys  to  deal  with.    It  will  be  discovered 
that  they  will  vary  greatly  in  educational  equipment,  to 
say  nothing  about  mental  capacity.    Many  cases  will  be 
discovered  where  the  boy  is  held  down  by  most  trying 
economic  circumstances.    All  these  matters  must  be  taken 
into  consideration  when  dealing  with  the  boy  who  works. 
This  points  to  the  need  of  formal  meetings  at  a  church, 
settlement.  Association  building,  and  the  like,  rather  than 
at  store  or  factory.    At  the  former  careful  presentations 
can  be  made  of  the  general  principles  of  choosing  a  life 
work,  and  the  details  of  the  campaign  may  be  put  before 
the  boys  in  an  atmosphere  where  they  can  and  will  listen 
and  understand.     These  boys  do  not  listen  to  as  many 
addresses    or    encounter    as    much    information    of    an 
academic  nature  as  do  schoolboys.     On  the  other  hand, 
they  have  more  practical  knowledge  of  occupations  and 
working  conditions  than  they  know  how  to  catalogue  or 
digest.     In  the  case  of  these  working  boys,  the  prelimi- 
nary presentations,  the  statement  before  the  interviews, 
and  the  vocational  forum  mentioned  in  Chapter  V  are 
of  the  greatest  moment.    Care  should  of  course  be  taken 
to  make  plain  to  the  boys,  as  has  been  indicated  with 
reference   to  the   employers,   that  this   effort  does  not 
presage  a  great  shift  of  jobs,  and  especially  that  it  does 
not  promise   easy  and   immediate   success.     "With   this 
particular  group  of  boys,  it  is  especially  essential  that 
they  understand  that  the  whole  effort  is  an  educational 
process  in  which  the  campaign  is  only  a  starting  point, 
and  that  they  are  the  ones  who  should  make  the  final 
decision.     However,  they  should  also  understand,  for 
their  encouragement,  that  the  best  minds  of  the  town 
can  be  brought  to  bear  on  their  particular  vocational 
problems,  and  that  because  of  this  Find  Yourself  Idea, 
and  its  operation,  it  is  not  necessary  for  them  to  make  the 
study  or  engage  in  their  early  struggles  alone. 


APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GKOUPS  OF  BOYS        73 

III.     Using  the  Find  Yourself  Idea  in  the  Christian 
Citizenship  Training  Program. 

The  Find  Yourself  Idea  is  one  of  the  methods  of  Boys' 
Work  which,  having  been  developed  in  the  experience  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  was  incorporated 
into  the  fourfold  program  of  physical,  mental,  social, 
and  religious  activities  known  as  the  Christian  Citizen- 
ship Training  Program. 

This  Program  should  go  far  toward  increasing  the 
use  which  is  made  of  the  Find  Yourself  Idea,  as  the 
number  of  leaders  of  such  boys'  groups  multiply  within 
the  Association  and  within  the  churches.  In  the  program 
for  boys  from  fifteen  to  seventeen  (Service  Training 
Program,  the  division  of  activity  "Choosing  a  Life 
Work"),  there  are  three  elective  tests  which  refer 
directly  to  the  Find  Yourself  Idea — Elective  No.  6  in  the 
first  year.  Elective  No.  4  in  the  second  year,  Elective  No. 
5  in  the  third  year. 

This  means  that  every  boy  of  Comrade  age  interested 
in  the  fourfold  program  should  have  at  some  time  during 
the  three  years  which  the  Comrade  program  covers,  an 
opportunity  to  face  himself  through  the  Find  Yourself 
process. 

There  are  several  ways  in  which  this  can  be  handled: 

1.  Individual  boys  may  be  interested  in  filling  out 
blanks  and  getting  them  handled  by  mail,  or  by  entering 
local  campaigns  run  by  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association. 

2.  A  leader  working  with  the  activities  of  the  Com- 
rade program  may  seize  the  opportunity  to  interest  his 
whole  group  by  having  them  take  part  in  a  campaign 
conducted  by  the  local  Association. 

3.  A  leader  may  set  up  and  carry  through  a  small 
campaign  for  the  members  of  his  own  group,  selecting 
mostly,  for  interviewers,  men  from  his  own  church. 

4.  All  of  the  groups  of  a  church  which  are  using  the 


74  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

Program  may  unite  to  promote  for  the  Comrade  boys  of 
that  church,  a  Find  Yourself  Campaign,  using  the 
resources  of  the  church  to  locate  interviewers  and  carry 
through  the  various  details  of  the  campaign. 

5.  The  largest  possibility  would  be  realized  when 
many  churches  of  a  city  interested  in  the  use  of  the  Pro- 
gram with  their  boys  came  together  for  a  united,  city- 
wide  campaign. 

In  each  of  the  possibilities  mentioned  above,  the  Find 
Yourself  Idea  would  have  an  excellent  opportunity  to 
make  a  contribution  to  the  lives  of  boys,  for  each  leader, 
because  of  the  charting,  would  have  much  more  detailed 
information  concerning  his  boys  than  do  the  leaders  in 
places  where  the  Find  Yourself  Campaign  is  run  for 
groups  of  boys  promiscuously  gathered.  The  charting 
and  the  activities  which  the  leader  has  conducted  with 
the  boys  will  have  established  a  common  ground  of 
sympathy  and  understanding  which  would  be  a  most 
valuable  asset  in  preparing  boys  to  secure  the  largest 
possible  returns  from  the  intimate  processes  of  the  Find 
Yourself  Campaign.  Further,  the  small  group  organiza- 
tion affords  the  best  possible  method  of  following  up  find- 
ings of  the  campaign.  As  the  leader  deals  with  the 
individual  members  of  his  group  in  a  fourfold  program, 
both  he  and  the  boy  can  be  careful  to  give  attention  and 
time  to  those  activities  which  are  in  keeping  with  the 
findings  resulting  from  such  a  vocational-guidance  effort. 
"With  someone  constantly  checking  up  on  the  boy's 
activity  and  referring  back  to  any  decision  which  may 
have  been  made  in  a  Find  Yourself  Campaign,  there 
comes  a  very  real  opportunity  to  realize  for  the  boy 
through  the  activities  of  the  Christian  Citizenship  Train- 
ing Program  the  big  ideas  which  have  gripped  him. 

IV.     The  Christian  Callings  Emphasis.* 
The  future  of  Christianity  is  ultimately  dependent 
*  Suggestions  by  Dr.  C.  J.  Carver. 


APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GROUPS  OF  BOYS        75 

upon  the  character  of  its  leaders.  There  can  be  no  argu- 
ment on  this  point.  For  this  reason,  the  call  to  Christian 
service  never  sounded  with  such  clearness,  such  insis- 
tence, such  varied  and  universal  challenge  as  now.  This 
situation  is  in  itself  an  imperative  challenge  to  every 
Christian,  and  particularly  to  every  Christian  leader  of 
boys ;  for  it  is  to  those  who  have  this  relation  of  inspirer 
and  guide  of  boyhood  and  youth,  that  we  must  look  in 
large  measure  for  that  stimulus  and  challenge  which  may 
capture  a  boy's  imagination  and  lead  ultimately  to  life- 
long service  in  a  position  of  Christian  leadership. 

All  this  is  true  of  volunteer  and  lay  leadership,  but  is 
still  more  emphatically  true  of  those  avenues  of  full-time 
service  referred  to  for  the  want  of  a  better  term  as  the 
distinctively  "Christian  callings."  For  too  long  have 
the  Church  and  all  allied  agencies  pursued  a  hand-to- 
mouth  policy  in  securing  recruits  for  the  work  at  hand; 
the  time  has  now  come  when  they  will  be  obliged  either 
to  push  back  the  borders  of  their  source  of  supply  to  the 
teen  age,  Avhere  the  majority  of  such  decisions  are  increas- 
ingly being  made,  or  be  obliged  to  give  way  before  other 
agencies  and  movements,  already  in  motion,  which  will 
still  further  curtail  the  stream  of  recruits. 

Without  fear  of  contradiction,  this  may  be  put  do\NTi  as 
unquestionably  one  of  the  biggest  problems  confronting 
Christianity  today. 

What  is  the  answer?  Where  shall  we  look,  and  how 
shall  we  begin  ?  It  is  suggested  that  intensive  cultivation 
along  the  line  proposed  in  this  chapter  may  profitably 
be  undertaken  with  the  three  following  groups. 

1.  Boys  who  have  previously  decided  quite  definitely 
in  their  own  minds  that  they  will  go  into  some 
Christian  calling,  but  who  desire  more  definite  in- 
formation with  respect  to  the  opportunities,  train- 
ing necessary,  matters  relating  to  the  choice  of  col- 
lege, courses,  study,  etc. 


76  THE  FIND  YOUKSELF  IDEA 

2.  Boys  who  have  manifested  interest  in  some  degree 
in  Christian  life  work  but  who  have  not  definitely 
decided,  or  who  have  not  shown  any  dominant  inter- 
est therein.  They  are  usually  debating  the  claims 
of  Christian  callings,  as  over  against  the  so-called 
secular  callings. 

3.  Boys  who  possess,  or  are  suspected  of  possessing, 
potential  Christian  leadership  qualities,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  parents,  leaders,  or  friends,  although  the 
boys  themselves  have  perhaps  shown  little  or  no 
interest  in  these  phases  of  Christian  life  work  as  yet. 

Through  the  hearing  thus  gained  must  come  the  future 
minister,  the  future  missionary,  religious  educator,  Chris- 
tian social-service  worker,  and  the  future  Association 
secretary.  And  if  a  Christian  boy's  commitment  to  the 
service  of  God  and  man  has  been  sincere  and  without 
reservations  he  will  feel  it  incumbent  upon  himself  to 
scrutinize  with  open  mind  and  heart  every  vocation,  to 
see  where  he  can  most  fruitfully  invest  his  life.  This  at 
once  opens  the  way  to  the  challenge  for  Christian  life 
work  through  full-time  service  in  the  program  of  the 
Church  and  its  allied  organizations. 

Locating  Prospective  Christian  Leaders. 

Everywhere  throughout  the  country  keen,  discerning 
local  men  should  be  putting  up  this  matter  of  vocational 
choice  for  Christian  callings  to  boys  of  promise.  Every 
local  Boys'  Secretary  should  actively  enlist  the  coopera- 
tion of  ministers,  Sunday  school  and  Christian  public 
school  teachers,  and  every  Association  secretary  in  locat- 
ing boys  of  potential  Christian  leadership  qualities. 

To  this  end,  every  existing  Association  activity  should 
be  utilized  to  the  full  in  locating  prospective  Christian 
leaders.  Naturally  one  of  the  most  prolific  sources  is  to 
be  found  in  the  Find  Yourself  Campaign  and  the  Cam- 
paign of  Friendship.     But  many  other  channels  lend 


APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GROUPS  OF  BOYS        77 

themselves  to  the  discovery  of  these  boys.  Among  these 
should  be  mentioned  state,  district,  and  county  older-boys' 
conferences,  older-boys'  life-work  conferences,  summer 
camps,  training  camps  and  conferences  for  employed  and 
high-school  boys.  Employed  Boys'  Brotherhoods  and 
Hi-Y  (with  particular  attention  to  the  smaller  inner 
groups),  boys  enrolled  in  the  Christian  Citizenship 
Training  Program,  and  Standard  Leaders  Clubs.  In 
addition,  there  are  boys  in  denominational  young  people's 
societies,  in  private  schools  and  camps. 

Further  still,  the  strongest  emphasis  possible  should  be 
laid  upon  the  necessity  of  challenging  individual  boys. 
Constant,  intensive,  personal  cultivation  should  be  prac- 
ticed at  all  times  and  at  every  opportunity.  In  the  last 
analysis,  each  of  these  boys  must  be  dealt  with  on  this 
personal,  one-by-one  basis,  and  the  sooner  this  vital  con- 
tact can  be  made,  the  better  for  all  concerned. 

Wherever  in  the  interest  of  adequate  and  systematic 
effort  such  a  step  may  seem  desirable,  a  Christian  call- 
ings committee  may  well  be  organized  at  state  and  local 
points.  Or  a  committee  already  at  hand  may  be  assigned 
special  responsibility  in  this  field. 


Steps  in  the  Process. 

An  outline  of  the  entire  program  may  be  had  in  the 
pamphlet,  "Boys  for  Christian  Callings"  (Association 
Press). 

A  "Christian  Callings  Supplement"  has  been  pre- 
pared to  accompany  the  "Self- Analysis  Blank."  This 
is  a  one-page  supplement, uniform  with  the  "High School 
Boys  Insert."  It  is  intended  that  this  "Christian  Call- 
ings Supplement"  be  used  either  during  a  Find  Yourself 
Campaign  or  a  Campaign  of  Friendship,  if  there  can  be 
picked  out  in  advance  certain  boys  to  whom  it  is  desired 
this  challenge  shall  come.     Or,  whenever  in  the  regular 


78  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

conduct  of  such  campaigns  it  develops  that  a  boy's 
vocational  tendencies  are  in  this  direction,  he  can  be 
requested  subsequently  to  fill  out  this  ' '  Christian  Callings 
Supplement. ' ' 

Local  workers  who  discover  boys  inclined  to  and  ap- 
parently fitted  for  professional  Christian  work,  should 
forward  the  names  of  such  boys  to  the  state  office  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  The  State  Secre- 
taries from  time  to  time  forward  all  such  names  to  their 
Regional  Association  Office.  In  this  way  locally,  in 
states,  and  nationally,  we  have  a  record  of  many  boys 
conscientiously  facing  Christian  types  of  life  work. 
Forms  for  reporting  data  about  these  boys  can  be  ob- 
tained from  State  and  Regional  Offices. 

This  information  should  be  forwarded  after  the  inter- 
views, so  as  to  include  certain  minimum  facts  for  the 
cultivation  list.  This  list  serves  as  a  general  clearing 
house  for  such  cultivation  and  follow-up  as  denomina- 
tional boards  of  education  and  Association  training  and 
recruiting  agencies  may  wish  to  give.  No  less  than  nine 
such  boards  and  three  such  agencies  are  now  using  this 
list  as  regards  those  particular  boys  in  which  they  are 
interested. 

An  outstanding  example  of  the  contribution  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  is  making  along  this  line 
grew  out  of  the  furnishing  from  this  list  of  119  names  to 
a  certain  denominational  board.  In  checking  up  it  was 
discovered  that  there  were  but  four  duplications,  signify- 
ing that  the  Association  through  its  contacts  had  dis- 
covered 115  Christian  callings  prospects  of  which  the 
denomination  itself  had  no  prior  knowledge.  This  only 
indicates  what  can  be  done  if  whole-hearted  interest  and 
cooperation  prevail. 

The  Follovir-Up. 

As  in  the  case  of  every  effort  to  assist  boys  in  coming 


APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GROUPS  OF  BOYS        79 

to  a  final  choice  of  life  work,  but  true  in  a  special  sense 
in  this  connection,  there  can  be  no  substitute  for  an 
effective  follow-up.  Though  self-evident,  this  point  needs 
reiteration  and  emphasis.  Experience  by  denominational 
life-work  agencies  and  by  our  own  Association  secretaries 
is  increasingly  proving  the  contention  that  the  follow-up 
is  the  acid  test  of  the  entire  recruiting  program.  The 
most  careful  and  safe  and  sane  promotion  (to  say  nothing 
of  the  fireworks  brand)  will  result  in  arousing  desirable 
hopes  and  ambitions  in  the  breasts  of  boys  and  young 
men,  but  such  procedure  has  elements  fraught  with  grave 
danger  unless  those  in  constant  touch  with  the  boys  pro- 
vide careful  cultivation.  Growth  means  life,  but  growth 
takes  both  time  and  attention.  And  as  no  long-distance 
method  has  ever  been  devised  whereby  a  florist,  for 
example,  can  give  his  plants  water,  heat,  and  the  neces- 
sary personal  attention  from  a  point  100  or  1,000  miles 
distant,  so  no  secretary  in  a  state  or  the  International 
office,  nor  a  denominational  board,  can  do  the  cultivation 
which  must  be  done  on  the  ground  if  it  is  done  at  all. 
The  key  of  the  situation  is  not  so  much  acquaintance  as 
friendship  and  confidence,  which  means  that  the  only 
hope  lies  with  the  secretary  or  other  leader  in  intimate 
contact,  and  that  constantly,  with  the  boy.  We  shall 
succeed  or  fail  in  this  effort  in  direct  proportion  as  local 
leaders  perform  or  do  not  perform  this  function. 
Some  of  the  items  in  this  matter  of  follow-up : 

1.  Relate  the  boy  to  some  man  in  the  church.  Associa- 
tion, school,  or  community,  who  can  act  as  a  per- 
sonal counselor  and  friend,  to  stay  by  him  until  he 
is  trained  and  in  service. 

2.  Provide  for  a  "check-up"  on  motives  and  abilities 
through 

(a)  Formal  and  informal  personal  conferences,  as 
opportunity  affords. 


80  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

(b)  Those  closest  to  him  in  home,  church,  and 
school. 

(c)  A  series  of  experiments  with  his  leadership 
talents  and  interests,  in  church,  school.  Asso- 
ciation, community.  This  will  give  him  a  taste 
of  it. 

Among  such  service  tasks  the  following  are 
offered  as  suggestive : 

Win  individual  boys  of  his  own  age  to  Christian 
decision. 

Lead  younger  boys  to  Christian  decision. 
Plan  and  conduct  meetings  for  boys  in  church, 
Association,  neighborhood  groups,  etc. 
Take    responsibility    for    some    social    service 
activities. 

Lead  younger  boys  in  play,  games,  gymnasium, 
groups,  classes,  etc. 
Coach  athletics  for  younger  boys. 
Act  as  tent  leader  at  summer  camp. 
Give  talks  on  Bible  and  missionary  topics. 
Engage  in  public  speaking  and  debating  con- 
tests. 

Participate  in  the  Christian  Citizenship  Train- 
ing Program  or  lead  a  group  of  Pioneers. 

3.  Suggest  literature,  including  Christian  biography, 
and  have  a  boy  report  on  his  reading,  his  reaction 
thereon,  etc. 

4.  Help  him  secure  information  relative  to  the  choice 
of  a  college  or  training  school,  courses  of  study, 
subjects,  financial  self-help,  etc. 

V.     Dealing  with  Individual  Boys — Particularly 
by  Mail. 

The  county,  state,  and  International  offices  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  have  analysis  blanks  (made  out  by  boys) 
constantly  coming  to  them  from  boys  who  have  heard 
about  the  Find  Yourself  system.  Somehow  they  have 
obtained  a  blank  and  they  request  our  help.   Occasionally 


APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GEOUPS  OF  BOYS    81 

they  write  in  for  one.  In  the  days  of  its  popularity,  the 
magazine  Every  Week  carried  an  article  about  our 
Find  Yourself  Campaign  which  attracted  considerable 
attention.  Recently  some  interviewer  in  a  New  York 
City  Association 's  campaign  waxed  enthusiastic  and  sent 
to  the  American  Magazine  a  tiny  article  which  covered 
less  than  a  page ;  but  a  three-line  sentence,  entirely  un- 
authorized, saying  that  this  particular  Association  would 
help  anyone  interested,  brought  to  the  magazine  two  hun- 
dred and  fourteen  letters  within  a  few  weeks.  Those 
letters  which  were  clearly  from  boys  and  young  men  are 
being  followed  up  through  the  regional  and  state  offices 
of  this  organization. 

It  is  evident  that  state  and  county  offices  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  can  have  all  the  Find  Yourself  work  by  mail  they 
want  and  can  handle.  It  is  also  evident  that  from  now 
on  a  certain  amount  of  this  mail  work  will  be  coming 
whether  we  want  it  or  not.  Twelve  points  are  therefore 
enumerated  growing  out  of  our  experience  in  trying  to 
help  boys  at  long  range.  Fortunately  most  of  the  boys 
can  be  referred  to  local  Associations,  sometimes  to  county 
groups,  but  some  will  be  so  isolated  that  they  must  be 
dealt  with  by  mail.  We  should  study  ways  to  improve 
this  service  to  hoys  at  a  distance;  for  there  is  many  a 
lonesome  boy  longing  for  such  help  all  over  North 
America  and  surely  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion has  an  organization  extensive  enough  to  assure  a 
close  contact  eventually  with  any  ambitious  boy  who 
wants  our  help  in  locating  his  logical  life  work  and  in 
establishing  a  safe  and  helpful  relationship  with  the  vast 
moving  life  of  the  world. 

TW^ELVE   IMPORTANT   POINTS 

1.  Contacts  with  more  or  less  isolated  boys  who  desire 
help  in  the  choice  of  life  work  are  made  through  articles 
in  papers  and  magazines,  suggestions  made  to  boys  per- 


82  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

sonally  by  secretaries  or  committeemen  in  their  travels, 
boys  telling  other  boys  about  the  Find  Yourself  method, 
etc. 

There  are  other  and  more  elaborate  plans  in  the  mak- 
ing, whereby  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  can  come  in  touch  with 
many  such  boys,  but  it  has  not  seemed  wise  as  yet  to 
interest  more  boys  at  a  distance  from  local  Associations 
and  general  offices  than  we  can  handle  well. 

2.  Furnish  the  boy  a  self -analysis  blank,  being  careful 
to  have  the  correct  insert,  according  to  whether  he  is  in 
school  or  at  work.  Be  sure  to  give  him  explicit  instruc- 
tions about  filling  out  the  blank.  Make  plain  to  him  just 
where  the  blank  is  to  be  sent,  viz.,  your  own  office.  Re- 
mind him  tactfully  that  what  he  wants  is  a  real  picture 
of  himself  for  he  will  not  get  very  far  in  life  work  on 
anything  but  his  own  interests,  capacities,  and  tempera- 
mental characteristics.  These  are  his  working  materials 
and  he  might  as  well  proceed  to  discover  just  what  they 
are. 

3.  Review  the  blank  with  great  care  and  keep  a  copy 
of  both  the  blank  and  suggestion  to  interviewers  which 
it  is  well  to  have  written  or  typed  on  the  back  of  the 
insert.  Remember  also  that  the  boy  will  see  these  notes 
as  well  as  the  interviewer. 

4.  Write  the  boy  a  friendly  letter  when  you  return  his 
blank,  suggesting  the  type  of  man  you  think  he  should 
seek  an  interview  with,  giving  him  some  suggestions  as  to 
methods  of  approach,  viz.,  to  a  physician,  banker,  stock 
raiser,  village  merchant,  etc.  Tell  him  to  make  a  pre- 
liminary call  on  the  first  interviewer  of  his  choice  and 
leave  his  blank  for  the  man  to  study,  making  a  date  for 
a  later  consultation. 

5.  Include  in  this  second  letter  suggestions  to  the  boy 
himself,  matters  you  would  want  to  take  up  with  him 
were  you  to  interview  him  yourself — vocational,  moral, 


APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GROUPS  OF  BOYS    83 

religious,  relating  to  further  education,  home  problems, 
etc. 

6.  Tell  him,  if  there  is  any  possibility  of  his  doing  so, 
to  locate,  in  a  public  library  or  elsewhere,  the  story  of 
Frederick  Wilson  in  the  "Life  Work"  volume  of  the 
Father  and  Son  Library.  This  is  a  boy  who  hunts 
out  his  own  interviewers,  and  it  should  be  particularly 
helpful  to  the  isolated  boy  either  in  the  country  or  the 
city. 

7.  Have  him  write  to  Frank  H,  Cheley,  422  Denham 
Building,  Denver,  Colo.,  editor-in-chief,  stating  the  name 
and  location  of  the  nearest  library  where  he  would  like  to 
have  these  volumes  made  available  to  himself  and  other 
ambitious  boys,  providing  he  cannot  find  this  set  of  boys ' 
books  in  his  neighborhood. 

8.  Find  for  the  boy  a  correspondent  who  (1)  may  be 
interested  in  boys  in  a  general  way,  or  (2)  if  possible,  a 
man  who  is  engaged  in  some  one  of  the  lines  of  life  work 
in  which  this  boy  is  interested.  This  is  not  at  all  an 
impossible  task,  and  may  be  made  a  great  inspiration  to 
isolated  boys.  Let  the  boy  report  to  him  and  to  yourself 
the  results  of  his  various  interviews. 

9.  Remember  that  the  ultimate  results  may  be  quite 
as  good  in  helping  a  boy  determine  his  proper  life  work, 
when  the  boy  is  at  a  distance,  and  is  throwoi  on  his  own 
initiative  to  locate  his  interviewers,  etc.,  as  when  he 
participates  in  a  regular  campaign.  Your  suggestions 
and  encouragement  may  be  the  only  element  he  really 
needs  to  enable  him  to  make  this  study  of  life  work 
intelligently. 

10.  Send  him  some  pamphlet  literature  occasionally 
such  as  "Where  Will  You  Be  Ten  Years  from  Today," 
"How  to  Hold  a  Job"— Finer;  "Keeping  Fit"— U.  S. 
Public  Health  Service;  "How  to  Deal  with  Temptation" 
— Speer.  Refer  him  particularly  to  pamphlets  or  books 
that  have  been  helpful  to  yourself.    You  will  of  course 


84  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

mention,  ' '  Occupations" — Gowin ;  ' ' Profitable  Vocations 
for  Boys" — Weaver;  books  of  inspiration  like  "Poems 
of  Action" — Porter;  "Every  Man  a  King" — Marden; 
"You  Are  the  Hope  of  the  World"— Hagedorn;  "Youth 
and  the  Nation" — Moore. 

If  the  boy  writes  that  he  cannot  obtain  these  books, 
then  you  and  the  correspondent  mentioned  in  Point  8  will 
have  a  splendid  opportunity  to  loan  or  give  him  some  of 
them  for  his  own  use  and  that  of  other  boys  whom  he  will 
interest  in  these  serious  questions  of  a  life  career.  Other 
portions  of  the  Life  Work  volume  of  the  Father  and 
Son  Library  are  rich  in  informational  and  inspirational 
material  for  correspondents  and  boys. 

11.  Give  the  boy  continuous  friendship  and  counsel 
by  mail  and  arrange  eventually  to  meet  him  at  a  state  or 
count}'-  boys'  conference  or  have  him  come  to  camp. 

12.  What  you  can  do  in  a  definite  religious  way  with 
such  a  boy  correspondent  will  be  determined  largely  by 
the  "faith  of  his  fathers,"  but  we  should  ever  be  on  the 
alert  to  help  him  develop  a  fourfold  life  as  close  to  the 
Christian  ideal  as  we  possibly  can.  We  should  show  him 
frankly  the  advantage  and  duty  of  being  actively  con- 
nected with  the  church  of  his  choice,  whenever  that 
becomes  a  possibility. 

VI.     Boys  in  Town  and  Country  Communities. 

There  is  a  logical  reason  for  dealing  with  the  boys  in 
rural  and  village  communities  last,  in  this  chapter,  for 
parts  of  the  material  in  each  of  the  other  five  sections 
apply  directly  to  these  boys  as  they  do  to  boys  in  the  city. 
However,  certain  phases  of  this  work  must  manifestly  be 
done  differently  in  smaller  communities,  especially  when 
they  are  organized  on  the  county  basis.* 

*  This  section  has  necessarily  been  written  with  the  County  Work 
of  the  Young  Men  's  Christian  Association  as  a  background.  The 
principles  and  methods  suggested,  however,  may  prove  useful  to 
others  operating  in  the  town  and  country. 


APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GROUPS  OF  BOYS        85 

This  adaptation  would  seem  to  be  threefold : 

1,  Through  regularly  organized  groups. 

2,  Through  a  Find  Yourself  Campaign  in  a  county  or 
section  thereof. 

3,  Dealing  with  boys  at  a  distance  through  correspond- 
ence. 

First,  a  natural  way  to  do  vocational-guidance  work  in 
small  communities  is  to  operate  through  the  regular 
groups  of  older  boys,  whether  Hi-Y  Clubs,  Employed 
Boys'  Brotherhoods,  Comrade  groups  in  the  Christian 
Citizenship  Training  Program,  in  churches,  or  in  the 
communit}  at  large.  With  such  groups  the  Find  Your- 
self project  should  come  up  for  attention  each  year  just 
as  do  Bible  Study,  Father  and  Son,  athletic  meet,  or 
county  boys'  conference. 

If  this  matter  has  not  been  presented  to  the  group 
before,  a  full  evening  should  be  set  aside  for  a  considera- 
tion of  vocational  choice,  with  an  address  by  some  well- 
equipped  man  in  the  community,  by  a  traveling  secre- 
tary, or  by  the  group  leader  himself.  Material  for  such 
a  talk  can  readily  be  assembled  from  one's  own  experi- 
ence and  observation  with  detailed  information  from  such 
volumes  as  this  and  the  books  and  pamphlets  given  in  the 
reference  section  in  Chapter  XI.  It  is  desirable  to  have 
each  boy  fill  out  self-analysis  blanks  that  same  evening 
or  surely  by  the  next  club  meeting. 

After  the  blanks  have  been  carefully  filled  they  should 
be  analyzed  according  to  the  principles  and  methods  sug- 
gested in  Chapter  IV  and  elsewhere,  with  men  selected 
who  shall  interview  each  boy ;  some  of  these  will  be  local 
men,  others  may  have  to  be  brought  in  from  some  near-by 
town.  If,  however,  this  is  being  operated  throughout  an 
entire  county,  one  community  can  greatly  supplement  the 
others  by  furnishing  specific  interviewers  on  technical 
lines.  The  follow-up  work  would  be  carried  on  as  sug- 
gested in  Chapter  X  with,  of  course,  variations  to  suit  the 


86  THE  FIND  YOUKSELF  IDEA 

smaller  community.  One  or  two  interviewers  who  can 
deal  with  the  boy  who  is  restless  in  his  anxiety  to  leave 
for  opportunities  in  the  city  will  be  valuable  men  to  use. 
Not  every  such  boy  manifestly  should  be  discouraged, 
but  opportunities  at  home  need  to  be  pointed  out  fre- 
quently as  much  as  more  alluring  chances  at  a  distance. 

In  the  second  place,  it  may  be  wise  to  arrange  a  for- 
mulated Find  Yourself  Campaign,  either  for  the  county 
as  a  whole  if  it  is  one  of  those  small  counties  with  an 
easily  reached  county  seat,  or  more  often  it  may  be  wise 
to  arrange  two  or  three  campaigns  for  a  single  county. 
The  geography  of  the  county  and  the  development  of 
organized  centers  will  largely  determine  this,  or  again, 
there  may  be  several  good-sized  towns  or  small  cities 
where  a  single  campaign  can  be  carried  on  as  in  a  larger 
city. 

To  assume  a  case,  we  will  suppose  it  is  desired  to  hold 
a  campaign  in  a  town  of  3,000  population,  with  boys 
from  other  towns  coming  in  where  that  is  possible  by 
means  of  trolley  or  automobiles.  The  campaign  would 
naturally  include  both  high-school  and  working  boys  and 
would  seek  to  reach  boys  on  the  farm  as  well  as  those  in 
the  surrounding  villages.  If  a  goodly  group  of  boys,  say 
fifty  or  even  less,  could  be  thus  assembled,  it  would  be 
wise  to  have  helpers  from  the  State  or  International  Com- 
mittee, or  near-by  Associations  in  city  or  county.  These 
should  be  men  who  could  bring  considerable  experience 
to  bear  on  the  details  of  a  campaign  and  also  furnish  the 
information  and  inspiration  necessary  to  interest  the 
boys  and  start  their  minds  in  vocational  plans  that  would 
be  logical.  Proceeding  then  as  in  city  campaigns,  inter- 
viewers would  be  sought,  the  papers,  made  out  on  this 
first  occasion,  carefully  analyzed ;  and  approximately  one 
week  later,  the  same  group  of  boys  brought  together, 
preferably  at  the  same  place.  They  can  then  meet  the 
interviewers  for  another  evening  of  inspiration  and  per- 


APPLICATION  TO  SPECIAL  GROUPS  OF  BOYS    87 

sonal  counseling.  The  vocational  forum  would  naturally 
be  conducted  by  one  of  the  leaders  while  part  of  the  boys 
were  being  interviewed  (see  Chapter  V). 

This  type  of  campaign  including  one  good-sized  town, 
several  near-by  towns,  and  boys  from  the  open  country 
has  worked  out  exceedingly  well.  Another  suggestion 
for  doing  the  same  thing,  either  by  county  or  a  section  of 
a  county,  would  be  the  holding  of  a  vocational  conference 
at  the  week-end.  Friday  night  could  be  given  to  the  first 
presentation  and  the  filling  out  of  blanks.  Saturday 
morning  (following  the  plan  used  in  the  Christian  Call- 
ings Conferences)  the  boys  could  have  vocational  ad- 
dresses and  discussions,  while  a  committee  of  the  men  in 
another  room  are  occupied  in  analyzing  the  blanks  for 
the  interviewers.  Saturday  afternoon  could  be  given  up 
to  interviews  with  some  leader  conducting  a  forum  in  case 
these  matters  have  not  all  been  taken  care  of  in  the  fore- 
noon. Saturday  evening  the  conference  might  close  with 
a  supper  and  social  time  with  a  serious  address  as  to 
the  consecration  of  a  boy's  life  powers  in  service  as  the 
closing  feature. 

Or,  in  case  it  is  possible,  the  conference  could  be  con- 
tinued and  close  on  Sunday  afternoon  with  inspirational 
or  evangelistic  addresses  as  in  the  regular  state  and 
county  boys'  conferences.  The  follow-up  work  would 
have  to  be  done  by  the  local  leaders.  This  might  form 
the  basis  for  a  plan  of  variation  of  the  county  confer- 
ences, putting  in  such  a  vocational  conference  perhaps 
once  in  three  years. 

It  is  manifestly  desirable  to  have  every  possible  boy 
come  to  some  center  where  he  can  meet  leaders,  secure 
direct  information,  talk  through  problems,  and  tie  up 
with  men  to  whom  he  can  look  for  further  counsel. 
It  is  necessary  sometimes,  however,  to  aid  boys  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  as  a  matter  of  fact,  an  exceedingly  helpful 
work  can  be  done,  both  in  character-building  and  voca- 


88  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

tional  guidance,  by  mail.  Sufficient  experience  has 
already  been  gained  in  this  method  to  suggest  logical 
ways  of  bringing  this  help  to  isolated  boys.  Section  V 
of  this  same  chapter  gives  suggestions  for  thus  dealing 
with  boys  whom  it  is  not  possible  at  the  moment  to  reach 
personally. 

The  known  resources  in  talent  which  are  discovered  in 
small  communities  and  on  the  farms  should  urge  us  to 
this  task,  while  the  woeful  dearth  of  stimulus  to  high 
thinking  and  the  seeming  impossibility  for  the  ambitious 
boy  to  become  properly  related  to  the  world's  work,  are 
rural  conditions  well  understood.  Many  a  boy  on  a 
remote  farm  or  in  a  mining  camp  is  longing  for  safe  and 
helpful  contact  with  the  outside  world.  But  perhaps 
the  neediest  boy  is  the  one  in  the  small  community,  for 
it  is  often  quoted  that  God  made  the  country,  man  the 
city,  but  the  devil  must  have  made  the  small  town.  The 
country  furnishes  healthful  stimulus  from  the  battle 
with  nature,  the  city  presents  to  boys  the  constant  urge 
of  many  attractive  personalities  busy  at  the  tasks  of 
civilization,  with  every  day  a  lurid  panorama  of  oppor- 
tunity open  before  the  boy's  mind.  Therefore,  an  espe- 
cial privilege  comes  to  the  man  interested  in  vocational 
guidance  in  helping  the  boy  in  the  uninspiring  village 
as  well  as  in  the  country  and  big  city. 

Summary. 

The  material  in  this  chapter  is  not  intended  to  be  com- 
plete in  any  way,  merely  a  few  suggestions  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  Find  Yourself  process  is  being 
adapted  to  different  types  of  boys  and  under  varying 
conditions. 


Chapter  VIII 

HELPING  TO  DISCOVER  A  BOY'S 
VOCATIONAL  TENDENCY 

Because  of  its  supreme  importance  in  this  friendly  and 
unpretentious  type  of  vocational  guidance,  it  has  seemed 
wise  to  place  in  a  separate  chapter  a  summary  of  what 
has  already  been  said,  and  some  things  that  may  be  new, 
with  reference  to  helping  a  boy  discover  his  primary 
vocational  tendency. 

Actually,  that  is  what  we  are  trying  to  do  through  the 
whole  Find  Yourself  process;  whether  we  are  giving 
information,  having  the  boys  fill  out  blanks,  interviewing, 
or  following  them  up,  we  are  hunting  sedulously  for 
natural  bent,  inherent  vocational  inclination.  We  are 
not  trying  so  much  to  help  a  boy  decide  on  a  particular 
vocation  for  the  moment ;  we  are  trying  rather,  as  in  the 
developing  process  in  the  art  of  photography,  to  help 
bring  to  the  surface  those  latent  interests,  capacities,  and 
characteristics  which  reveal  the  boy 's  real  self. 

This  of  course  is  a  fundamental  reason  why  we  prefer 
to  deal  with  boys  from  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age 
upward.  Previous  to  that  time  many  of  his  interests 
are  not  stable  enough  to  be  depended  upon,  but  as  soon  as 
he  approaches  middle  adolescence  it  is  possible  to  pursue 
with  some  certainty  the  quest  to  discover  what  are  the 
boy 's  dominant  reactions,  what  is  the  flow  of  his  interests, 
in  study,  sport,  social  life,  and  in  work,  either  as  he  has 
had  experience  in  work,  or  as  in  imagination  he  projects 
himself  into  the  field  of  earning  one's  living. 

As  we  have  said  a  thousand  times  to  boys  themselves, 


90  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

what  we  want  to  help  them  discover  is  this  primary 
vocational  tendency  if  there  be  such  in  their  lives.  We 
seek  to  know  whether,  elementally,  a  boy  is  scientific  and 
mechanical,  that  is,  does  he  enjoy  dealing  with  things, 
forces,  objects,  or  is  he  primarily  commercial,  desiring 
to  deal  with  trade,  with  banking,  or  with  business ;  is  he, 
on  the  other  hand,  artistic,  neither  interested  in  money 
nor  machines,  but  exceedingly  anxious  to  give  self-expres- 
sion in  some  field  of  art?  Is  he  perhaps  literary  or 
humanic,  so  built  that  to  find  permanent  satisfaction  in 
work,  it  must  involve  ideas  and  people  ?  May  he,  on  the 
other  hand,  have  another  primary  work  capacity  which 
runs  back  and  forth  through  several  of  these  and  may 
operate  in  almost  any  of  these  fields,  is  he  endowed  with 
good  executive  ability,  the  kind  of  work  in  which  he 
directs  the  activities  of  others?  Sometimes  boys  have 
very  evident  combinations  of  these  major  work-endow- 
ments, but  before  we  consider  these  single-track  or 
double-track  boys,  we  must  clear  the  road  of  one  psychic 
difficulty. 

"We  must  help  boys,  especially  those  who  are  immature 
in  thought  or  experience,  to  distinguish  between  surface 
interests  and  practical  ability  in  any  of  these  larger 
phases  of  life's  work.  For  example,  we  all  run  across 
persons  in  life  who  are  exceedingly  fond  of  music,  noth- 
ing so  thrills  or  stirs  them  as  the  flowing  cadences  of 
melody.  If  this  subjective  interest  happens  to  be  com- 
bined with  real  ability,  then  the  boy  has  a  right  to  con- 
sider a  musical  career.  But  for  most  of  us,  no  matter 
how  intense  may  be  our  subjective  interest  in  music  or 
the  other  arts,  our  practical  ability  is  about  nil.  "We 
must  look  elsewhere,  therefore,  for  interests  which  com- 
bine with  some  capacity  for  useful  work. 

The  so-called  test  of  experience  may  be  necessary  to 
help  solve  this  problem  in  the  life  of  many  a  boy.  Sup- 
pose he  has  mechanical  interests  and  a  real  craving  in  the 


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A  BOY'S  VOCATIONAL  TENDENCY  91 

musical  line,  arrangements  can  be  made  for  the  boy  to 
take  music  lessons  in  voice  or  instrument  as  the  case  may 
be,  with  the  result  that  in  a  few  months  a  skilful  teacher 
may  determine  whether  or  not  he  has  sufficient  ability  to 
even  consider  a  musical  career.  At  the  same  time,  he  may 
be  working  as  an  apprentice  in  a  machine  shop,  a  car 
works,  or  in  some  similar  skilled  mechanical  line.  He  is 
not  wasting  any  time,  for  this  is  a  problem  he  has  to  work 
out  in  his  life,  to  find  out  in  which  of  these  two  dominant 
interests  lies  his  real  money-earning  capacity.  We  want 
to  help  each  boy  so  far  as  we  can  to  establish  a  solid 
economic  basis  for  his  life.  So  no  mere  sentiment  or  sub- 
jective interest  can  be  allowed  to  be  a  controlling  factor. 
If  through  experience  in  both  lines  it  becomes  fairly 
evident  that  this  boy  has  a  twenty  per  cent  musical 
ability  so  far  as  earning  a  living  is  concerned,  and  that 
eighty  per  cent  of  his  earning  capacity  is  mechanical,  the 
question  is  settled.  Some  mechanical  occupation,  either 
with  hand  or  brain,  must  be  his  vocation  and  music  must 
be  his  avocation  or  side  line. 

Avocation  a  Safety  Valve. 

From  the  psychic  standpoint,  it  is  quite  important, 
however,  not  to  discourage  the  boy  with  reference  to  any 
side  line.  His  musical  interest  may  be  the  most  intense 
thing  in  his  life,  and  for  his  mental  health,  his  courage, 
and  his  general  efficiency,  it  is  essential  for  him  to  find 
happy  and  adequate  expression  for  this  intense  subjective 
interest.  From  the  practical  standpoint,  too,  it  is  proper 
to  allow  a  boy  the  widest  opportunity  to  develop  his  side 
lines,  for  even  with  a  test  of  experience  it  is  not  possible 
to  say  at  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  of  age  whether  the 
side  line  may  not  later  in  life  become  the  main  issue. 
This  is  probably  not  so  likely  to  happen  in  music  and  the 
graphic  arts  as  in  some  other  lines,  for  these  are  more 
easily  measured. 


92  THE  FIND  YOUESELF  IDEA 

Take  two  phases  of  one  dominant  tendency — the 
scientific  interest  in  life.  Lester  Ward  started  out  as  a 
biologist  and  finally  became  nationally  well  known  in 
connection  with  his  work  at  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
in  Washington,  but  he  evidently  had  in  his  characteris- 
tics a  strong  hu manic  interest,  for  the  more  he  studied 
into  biology  and  came  to  the  matters  of  the  organization 
of  the  lower  forms  of  life,  he  was  struck  with  the  com- 
parisons with  human  life  and  gradually  came  to  be 
known  for  his  writings  and  research  dealing  with  the 
primitive  and  then  the  more  civilized  forms  of  association 
and  organization.  In  middle  life,  that  which  had  been 
his  side  line  became  his  main  line  and  he  left  the  field 
of  biology  for  the  scientific-humanic  occupation  of 
sociologist  at  Brown  University.  Here  he  gained  a  de- 
served reputation  as  a  sociologist.  Many  even  consider 
him  the  leading  sociologist  among  those  thus  far  pro- 
duced in  America. 

We  have  often  commented  upon  the  case  of  Morris  K. 
Jessup,  a  well-known  New  York  business  man  who  kept 
his  main  line  of  business  throughout  his  life  but  fol- 
lowed two  distinct  side  lines  and  probably  made  as  great 
a  contribution  to  his  city  and  nation  through  his  avoca- 
tions as  in  his  vocation  itself.  He  was  primarily  a  busi- 
ness man  but  his  contribution  of  time  and  money  to 
matters  connected  with  exploration,  natural  history, 
etc.,  and  his  associations  with  the  Church  and  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  distinctly  humanie  lines, 
gave  him  great  satisfaction  and  enabled  him  to  render 
service  in  a  variety  of  fields  of  human  endeavor. 

The  avocation  as  a  safety  valve  is  worthy  the  study 
of  any  vocational  counselor.  Frequently  a  boy  is  per- 
fectly satisfied  if  he  can  play  in  the  band  or  in  an 
orchestra,  or  be  related  to  music  in  some  quite  informal 
way,  but  to  discourage  him  entirely  in  a  line  which 


A  BOY'S  VOCATIONAL  TENDENCY  93 

relates  very  closely  to  the  emotions,  is  dangerous  and 
unnecessary. 

Types  of  Dominant  Tendency. 

Some  of  the  types  which  show  up  in  practically  every 
large  campaign,  some  indicating,  as  will  readily  be  seen, 
one  clean-cut  vocational  tendency,  or  an  equally  evident 
combination,  are  these : 

1.  The  boy  who,  by  study  interests,  vocational  choices, 
and  other  reactions  in  his  blank,  indicates  clearly 
his  interest  and  probable  ability  to  work  with 
machines  and  mechanical  forces. 

2.  The  engineering  type,  a  boy  either  better  endowed 
mentally  or  more  ambitious,  looks  beyond  such 
occupations  as  machinist  or  electrician,  to  further 
study,  and  such  sacrifices  of  time  and  money  as  will 
make  possible  preparation  for  an  engineering 
career. 

3.  The  salesman  type,  the  boy  with  large  humanic 
interests  showing  up  in  his  answers  to  the  friend- 
ship questions,  his  checks  opposite  the  different 
amusements,  and  the  like,  indicating  a  fondness  for 
people,  all  this  combined  with  a  commercial  interest 
and  usually  with  a  desire  for  travel.  Such  boys 
frequently  have  little  choice  as  to  what  they  will 
try  to  sell,  indicating  again  the  humanic  character 
of  the  salesman's  job. 

4.  The  artistic  boy,  who  usually  leaves  everything  else 
alone  in  the  vocational  choices  except  that  which 
has  to  do  with  the  graphic  arts.  He  not  infre- 
quently brings  with  him  to  the  campaign  meetings, 
illustrations  of  his  work.  In  our  observation,  these 
boys  are  more  likely  to  have  ability  which  can  be 
turned  into  wage-earning  power  than  the  boys  who 
are  interested  in  music. 

5.  The  literary-humanic  type,  occasionally  showing  up 
as  either  literary  or  humanic  but  more  often  in  the 
combination.    This  type  is  not  hard  to  discover  for 


94  THE  FIND  YOUESELF  IDEA 

their  reactions  are  usually  clean-cut  and  definite. 
The  occupations  they  are  interested  in  range  all  the 
way  from  preacher  to  actor.  They  are  frequently 
boys  without  much  formal  education  but  with 
latent  ability  and  sometimes  rather  vague  ambi- 
tions. They  make  excellent  anarchists  or  great 
constructive  leaders  dealing  with  ideas  and  with 
people,  and  almost  invariably  should  be  encour- 
aged to  procure  the  education  necessary  and  make 
plans  for  a  socialized  or  a  literary  career. 

6.  The  commercial  type,  with  perhaps  as  wide  a  range 
of  variations  as  any  of  the  groupings,  not  at  all 
easy  to  pick  out  from  a  blank,  but  rather  revealing 
as  to  type  and  interests  during  his  interviews. 
Contiguity  seems  to  have  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the 
vocational  selection  of  these  boys,  for  they  vary 
greatly  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  Here  is 
a  case  where  the  giving  of  information  about  the 
capacities  required,  rewards  offered,  and  service  to 
society  involved  in  different  commercial  occupa- 
tions is  of  great  value  in  keeping  the  boy  from 
the  idea  of  getting  rich  quick  and  making  him  see 
the  larger  aspects  of  commercial  life. 

7.  The  scientific  boy,  that  one  who  likes  to  deal  with 
the  sources  of  things,  with  forces  in  their  primary 
relationships.  In  the  past  this  has  been  largely  an 
academic  field  of  vocations,  but  today  is  being 
rapidly  expanded  into  commercial  and  industrial 
opportunities.  Of  course  much  educational  prepa- 
ration is  required  and  this  we  must  make  plain  to 
the  boys  who  show  interest  and  capacity  in  this 
line. 

8.  Running  across  several  of  these  types  is  what  we 
might  term  the  outdoor  boy,  not  the  youth  who  is 
satisfied  to  have  his  outdoor  life  in  the  form  of 
recreation,  but  who  seems  convinced  in  his  mind 
and  drawn  toward  some  occupation  which  gives 
him  the  freedom  and  exhilaration  of  outdoor  life. 
It  is  important  to  help  these  boys  find  their  place 


A  BOY'S  VOCATIONAL  TENDENCY  95 

in  such  work,  for  of  all  unhappy  misfits,  the  boy 
who  should  have  been  a  scientific  farmer  or  a 
forester,  but  lands  in  a  bookkeeper's  job,  is  deserv- 
ing of  our  utmost  sympathy. 

It  is  not  always  easy  either  from  a  boy 's  blank  or  after 
various  interviews  with  him  to  discover  whether  or  not 
he  is  in  one  of  these  distinct  classifications,  but  it  is 
vastly  easier  to  help  him  get  placed  in  this  larger  cate- 
gory than  it  is  to  help  him  decide  at  once  whether  he 
should  be  a  preacher  or  a  plumber.  Illustrative  of  the 
way  in  which  the  boy's  blank  sometimes  gives  hints  of 
his  place  in  the  larger  catalogue  of  work,  it  may  be 
interesting  to  observe  the  list  of  studies  submitted  here- 
with, an  exact  reproduction  from  the  Self-Analysis 
Blank.  The  numbers  opposite  different  studies  are  dif- 
ferent boys.  That  is,  No.  1,  as  it  occurs  nine  times,  means 
the  way  in  which  that  boy  marked  his  blank.  No.  2, 
etc.,  each  indicates  a  different  boy  with  his  distinct  mark- 
ings. One  of  course  should  not  attempt  to  determine  a 
boy's  classification  on  anything  so  superficial  as  a  mark- 
ing of  a  few  studies  in  which  he  is  interested.  However, 
it  does  become  significant  when  compared  with  a  dozen 
other  things  in  the  blank.  Take  boy  No.  1  for  example. 
He  indicates  a  fairly  clear  literary  and  humanic  type; 
his  only  variations  are  a  scientific  touch  in  botany  and  a 
check  of  commercial  subjects.  On  the  other  hand,  boy 
No.  2  indicates  quite  a  clear  case  of  scientific  and 
mechanical  interest,  beginning  at  the  upper  right-hand 
corner  with  chemistry  and  trigonometry,  and  ending 
over  toward  the  left-hand  corner  with  manual  training 
and  trade  courses.  No.  3  seems  to  be  literary  and 
humanic  again,  with  quite  a  different  checking  of  sub- 
jects than  No.  1.  He,  too,  indicates  nine  study  interests, 
all  of  which  fall  in  the  realm  of  ideas  and  people.  As 
estimated  by  studies,  again.  No.  4  seems  to  be  literary 
and  scientific,  his  choices  describing  a  sort  of  half  circle. 


96  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

No.  5  shows  quite  the  artistic  tendency,  five  out  of  his 
eight  checks  coming  in  the  second  column,  which  is  obvi- 
ously the  artistic  section  of  this  study  arrangement. 
This  last  is  the  only  boy  of  the  five  whom  we  know  per- 
sonally and  he  is  artistic  in  real  ability  as  well  as  in 
his  reaction  to  these  study  choices.  Incidentally  this 
boy  clearly  indicates  more  than  casual  artistic  interests 
at  no  less  than  eighteen  other  points  in  his  answers  to 
the  questions  on  the  regular  blank  and  the  high-school 
insert. 

No.  6  expresses  clearly  the  literary-humanic  tendency 
but  still  does  not  duplicate  either  Nos.  1  or  3. 

If  the  reader  will  refer  again  to  Chapter  IV,  he  will 
be  reminded  of  the  manner  in  which  these  studies  are 
arranged,  without  headings  or  groupings,  but  in  such  a 
way  that  different  tendencies,  as  expressed  in  study 
likings,  follow  certain  diagonals,  etc.,  across  the  page, 
helping  the  worker  to  locate  at  a  glance,  frequently, 
something  fundamental  about  a  boy's  interests  and 
perhaps  his  capacities. 


A  BOY'S  VOCATIONAL  TENDENCY 


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98  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

The  Use  of  Tests. 

What  part  should  mental  and  vocational  tests  play  in 
locating  a  boy's  vocational  tendency?  This  is  a  timely 
question  for  every  worker  with  boys.  If  there  are  less 
laborious  means  of  doing  this  service  among  boys  we 
should  surely  be  utilizing  them.  Without  attempting  to 
go  into  the  matter  exhaustively,  we  may  with  profit 
examine  the  test  situation.  Much  attention  has  been 
given  to  tests  of  various  kinds  of  late  but  it  is  only  fair 
to  say  that  there  remains  great  diversity  of  opinion  as 
to  just  how  far  psychological  or  educational  tests  can 
aid  us  today  in  helping  a  boy  decide  his  life  work.  When 
doctors  disagree  it  may  be  a  bad  time  for  amateurs  to 
form  opinions  but  it  is  a  capital  time  to  study  a  subject. 

When  the  general  public  was  appraised  of  what  satis- 
factory results  had  been  obtained  in  the  American  army 
through  the  use  of  (a)  the  general-intelligence  test  and 
(b)  the  trade  tests,  many  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that 
all  our  problems  in  vocational  guidance  were  solved  and 
that  many  plans  of  education  would  be  changed  at  once. 
Almost  two  years  have  passed  and  the  influence  on  either 
vocational  guidance  or  general  education  has  been  com- 
paratively slight. 

When  officers  wanted  to  know  in  the  army  what  the 
immediate  ability  of  five  hundred  men  might  be  as  to 
carpentry,  automobile  repair,  plumbing,  or  driving  auto- 
trucks, the  trade  tests  gave  them  exactly  what  they 
wanted.  But  the  same  test  would  have  very  little  effect 
in  helping  to  discover  the  possibilities  of  a  sixteen-year- 
old  boy  in  any  one  of  those  lines.  Those  tests  were  for 
momentary  ability  to  "wipe  a  joint"  or  repair  an  auto; 
what  we  want  to  find  out  with  a  boy  is  not  what  can  he 
do  today  but  whether  in  all  reason  he  possesses  those 
interests  and  capacities  that  indicate  reasonable  happi- 
ness and  usefulness  for  him  if  he  should  become,  say,  a 
plumber.    Today  he  may  not  be  able  to  repair  an  auto- 


A  BOY'S  VOCATIONAL  TENDENCY  99 

mobile  but  he  may  have  capacity  which,  properly 
trained,  will  make  him,  fifteen  years  hence,  an  expert. 

Similarly  in  the  general  intelligence  tests,  Dr.  God- 
dard,  famous  student  of  the  feeble-minded,  would  seem 
in  his  recent  book*  to  have  accepted  the  army  intelli- 
gence tests  as  absolute  classifiers  of  the  enlisted  men, 
hence  of  all  men,  but  whereas  his  facts  are  interesting 
and  probably  accurate,  historically,  his  deductions  from 
the  facts  are  by  no  means  accepted  by  other  scientific 
men.  Moreover  young  men  in  the  army  who  themselves 
made  very  good  grades  question  seriously  the  ability  of 
the  army  general-intelligence  tests  to  at  all  adequately 
measure  one's  general  working  capacity. 

Moreover  one  frequently  hears  army  officers  who  gave 
the  tests,  men  who  feel  they  were  extremely  useful  in  the 
army,  state  in  public  their  fear  lest  too  much  be  ex- 
pected of  these  tests  if  applied  to  civilian  life.  Professor 
Hayes,  sociologist  at  the  State  University  of  Illinois, 
warned  the  American  Sociological  Society  at  a  recent 
meeting  not  to  expect  too  much  help  in  settling  a  young 
man's  destiny  from  his  reactions  to  a  "little  set  of 
puzzles. ' ' 

Those  of  us  who  have  many  duties  besides  vocational 
guidance  may  therefore  step  with  some  caution  where 
thorough  students  of  such  problems  are  at  decided  vari- 
ance. There  is  an  unmeasurable  element  in  many  men 
of  seeming  moderate  abilities,  some  driving  force  which 
aroused  by  an  experience  or  a  comradeship,  by  religion 
or  love,  makes  his  life  flame  and  glow  with  power.  The 
case  for  such  unmeasurable  but  ruling  qualities  is  put 
well  in  this  editorial  from  the  New  York  Tribune: 

The  Edison  Questionnaire. 
"Thomas  A.  Edison  is  severe  on  the  collegians 

*  "Human  Efficiency  and  Levels  of  Intelligence,"  by  Henry  H. 
Goddard,  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Kesearch,  of  Ohio. 


100  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

who  flunked  the  questionnaire  he  personally  pre- 
pared for  those  who  applied  for  work  in  his  shop. 
'Amazing  ignorance,'  'Don't  seem  to  know  any- 
thing'— these  are  his  comments  on  young  men 
academically  trained. 

"But  it  isn't  likely  that  these  young  men  will  let 
their  careers  be  snuffed  out  by  a  questionnaire.  Mr. 
Edison's  friend,  Henry  Ford,  he  will  remember,  did 
not  score  a  high  percentage  on  a  set  of  questions 
put  to  him  a  while  ago,  yet  Mr.  Edison  would  no 
doubt  find  Mr.  Ford  a  useful  man  to  employ  at 
West  Orange. 

"You  can't  assess  a  man's  total  ability,  translate 
it  into  watts  and  amperes,  by  a  few  interrogations. 
He  may  rank  X  Y  Z,  as  Mr.  Edison  expresses  it,  in 
such  a  test,  but  A  B  C  in  elements  of  efficiency,  per- 
sonality, and  character  that  he  can't  transcribe  on 
a  piece  of  paper. 

"Take  another  warm  friend  of  Mr.  Edison's — the 
late  John  Burroughs.  Surely  not  the  slightest 
notion  of  the  naturalist's  qualities  could  have  been 
gained  through  an  electrical  inquisition.  Sometimes 
one  tires  of  the  abnormal  stress  that  is  laid  on  that 
desirable  thing  called  efficiency.  In  the  world  of 
outdoors — for  example,  in  John  Burrough's  world 
— the  most  efficient  creature  probably  is  the  English 
sparrow — a  pest." 

Browning  tried  to  put  the  case,  too,  in  those  helpful 
lines: 

"Not  on  the  vulgar  mass 
Called  'work,'  must  sentence  pass, 
Things  done,  that  took  the  eye  and  had 

the  price; 
O'er  which,  from  level  stand, 
The  low  world  laid  its  hand. 
Found  straightway  to  its  mind,  could 

value  in  a  trice: 


A  BOY'S  VOCATIONAL  TENDENCY  101 

"But  all,  the  world's  coarse  thumb 
And  finger  failed  to  plumb, 
So  passed  in  making  up  the  main  account: 
All  instincts  immature. 
All  purposes  unsure. 

That  weighed  not  as  his  work,  yet  swelled 
the  man's  amount." 

Dr.  Goddard  would  probably  contend  that  these  men 
who  rise  to  splendid  achievement  after  seeming  to  be 
men  of  very  moderate  ability  would  prove  in  reality  to 
be  men  of  a  good  grade  of  intelligence  and  would  have 
rated  reasonably  well  in  an  intelligence  test  such  as  the 
Otis  or  the  Stanford  Tests  for  Adults.  But  there  is  a 
danger  point  here,  for  tests  are  still  imperfect,  and  the 
boy  who  rates  badly  on  one  test  should  not  be  abandoned 
as  hopeless ;  he  may  have  a  peculiar  type  of  mind  or  the 
conditions  for  the  test  may  not  have  been  good. 

We  should  realize  too  that  there  is  nothing  incon- 
sistent about  a  theory  of  mental  levels  and  the  "univer- 
sality of  talent"  idea  briefly  discussed  in  Chapter  VII. 
These  two  theories  merely  mean  that  scattered  through 
all  the  social  groups,  rich  and  poor,  tutored  or  untutored, 
there  is  a  liberal  quantity  of  good  high-grade  talent,  that 
you  are  likely  to  locate  splendid  ability  in  the  street- 
cleaner's  boy  or  in  the  professor's  son,  or  again  that 
neither  may  grade  especially  high,  but  that  the  corner- 
grocer's  boy  may  be  quite  the  superior  of  either  in 
latent  possibilities. 

Lester  Ward  in  his  dissertation  on  "Religious  En- 
vironment" in  "Applied  Sociology,"  Chapter  IX,  gives 
a  powerful  argument  for  the  humble  home  with  high 
ideals  as  a  place  in  which  to  bring  to  the  surface  possi- 
bilities of  achievement  in  the  lives  of  boys.  He  lists 
forty-nine  of  the  world's  leading  scientists,  philosophers, 
and  literary  men,  all  sons  of  Protestant  clergymen,  and 
adds:  "I  could  have  tripled  or  quintupled  these  lists 


102  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

indicating  men  of  recognized  distinction  but  less  known 
to  the  general  public. ' '  Certainly  Ward  was  not  favor- 
able enough  to  the  ordinary  forms  of  religion  to  go  out 
of  his  way  to  pay  a  tribute  to  the  minister's  home  unless 
he  had  seen  distinct  sociological  significance  in  the  de- 
velopmental qualities  of  the  unpretentious  Christian 
home.  For  some  democratic  reason,  God  has  scattered, 
by  means  of  the  laws  of  heredity,  talent  and  good  ability 
evenly  through  the  field  of  human  life,  renewing  that 
life  and  producing  through  combinations  of  hereditary 
strains  new  and  wonderful  creatures  in  all  classes  of 
society. 

In  all  our  study  of  mental  levels  then,  in  all  our  search 
for  what  a  boy  can  and  cannot  do,  we  must  not  overlook 
the  power  of  environment,  of  high  ideals,  of  inspiring 
leadership  and  dynamic  Christian  character  to  bring  out 
what  a  boy  has  in  him.  Neither  we  nor  the  boy  are 
responsible  for  what  God  has  placed  within  him  in  shape 
of  talent  or  tendency;  but  if  he  comes  under  our  influ- 
ences in  the  flexible  years  of  adolescence,  we  are  respon- 
sible for  helping  him  discover  his  particular  abilities  be 
these  great  or  small.  And  having  discovered  them  he 
should  be  helped  to  know  how  to  use  them  best  in  the 
complications  of  modern  life.  Shall  we  then  attempt  to 
use  tests  at  all?  Certainly,  but  in  a  guarded  way. 
Modern  psychology  is  helping  us  to  understand  both  our- 
selves and  each  other  much  better  than  we  ever  did 
before;  hence,  though  as  practical  workers  we  feel  hesi- 
tancy about  attempting  to  use  tests  in  any  large  way 
noiv  to  help  a  boy  determine  what  his  life  work  should 
be,  at  the  same  time  we  do  well  to  watch  the  experiments 
being  made  at  various  colleges,  and  keep  in  touch  with 
the  tests  used  in  certain  commercial  concerns  when  boys 
and  girls  apply  for  work.  "We  can  adopt  such  tests  our- 
selves when  they  become  sufficiently  simple  to  be  handled 
by  those  who  make  no  claim  to  be  experts.     Surely  as 


A  BOY'S  VOCATIONAL  TENDENCY  103 

time  goes  on  we  shall  all  learn  to  use  the  tests  which  will 
set  off  those  boys  of  superior  minds,  or  those  of  feeble 
minds,  from  the  rest  of  us  more  or  less  normal  and  ordi- 
nary human  beings. 

"With  a  hundred  boys  in  a  Find  Yourself  Campaign, 
even  now,  we  rather  unconsciously  divide  the  boys  into 
an  upper  ten  and  a  lower  ten  and  the  mass  between,  by 
the  use  of  our  analysis  blanks,  the  results  of  the  inter- 
views, and  our  previous  knowledge  of  the  boys. 

Whenever  we  can  procure,  either  among  our  educa- 
tional secretaries  or  outside,  men  who  are  familiar  with 
the  process  of  giving  mental  tests,  we  should  certainly 
take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  and  secure  a  rating 
on  those  boys  who  care  to  take  the  tests.  It  would  doubt- 
less be  unwise  for  us  to  insist  on  all  the  boys  being  rated 
with  the  present  state  of  confusion  and  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  just  the  place  and  value  of  such  tests.  But 
where  we  can  secure  skilful  men  to  give  the  tests,  and 
boys  who  want  to  take  them,  there  certainly  could  be  no 
objection  to  such  experimentation.  There  are  obviously 
ways  in  which  this  would  be  valuable.  Suppose  a  boy 
shows  deep  interest  in  a  career  of  mechanical  engineer- 
ing, but  in  this  case  the  boy  has  a  widowed  mother  and 
three  or  four  smaller  children  to  support.  To  secure  the 
education  necessary  for  mechanical  engineering  would 
be  a  severe  struggle.  If,  however,  a  mental  rating  done 
with  skill  showed  the  boy  to  be  endowed  with  a  high- 
grade  mentality,  we  would  feel  much  more  confident  in 
encouraging  that  boy  to  make  the  effort  or  in  allowing 
some  interested  man  to  loan  the  boy  money  at  strategic 
points  in  his  educational  experience. 

It  seems  probable  that  in  this  realm  of  general-intelli- 
gence rating  we  can  secure  more  help  at  present  than  in 
the  more  difficult  and  less  developed  tests  which  aim  to 
show  adaptability  for  particular  life  callings. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  rather 


104  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

guarded  reference  to  vocational  tests  made  in  the  Har- 
vard summer  school  announcement  (1921). 

"The  second  portion  of  this  course  (vocational 
guidance)  will  deal  with  the  various  forms  of  tests 
and  measures,  not  in  an  effort  to  develop  skill  in  the 
technique  of  administering  them,  but  rather  with 
the  aim  of  acquiring  a  familiarity  with  their  pur- 
poses, limitations,  and  possibilities.  The  following 
topics  will  be  considered : 

1.  General-intelligence  tests,  both  individual  and 
group. 

2.  Prognostic  tests  which  aim  to  reveal  individual 
propensities  and  ability  to  make  progress  in 
given  fields. 

3.  Trade  tests  and  other  vocational  tests. 

4.  Rating  scales  and  similar  means  of  recording  sys- 
tematized personal  estimates. 

5.  Continuous  record  systems  to  reveal  personal  de- 
velopment in  school  subjects  and  the  character- 
istics measured. 

6.  Reports  by  members  of  the  class  and  committees 
upon  the  use  of  the  different  kinds  of  tests  and 
measurement  devices  in  various  institutions." 

Experienced  workers  in  Find  Yourself  Campaigns  will 
quickly  note  ways  in  which  our  present  methods  of  deal- 
ing with  boys  find  place  under  No.  2  Prognostic  Tests 
and  No.  4  Personal  Estimates,  and  wherever  our  follow- 
up  work  is  properly  done,  much  of  that  method  would  fit 
under  their  classification  No.  5  Record  Systems,  personal 
development,  etc. 

Perhaps  there  should  be  added  what  is  called  the  test 
of  experience,  the  costly  trial  and  error  method  of  every- 
day life.  "We  can  at  least  watch  the  practical  experiences 
of  our  boy  friends  at  school,  at  work,  and  in  tasks  of 
volunteer  service,  and  help  them  interpret  their  youthful 
successes  and  failures.  Many  a  boy  spends  five  or  six 
years  drifting  about  in  this  test  of  experience.     Surely 


A  BOY'S  VOCATIONAL  TENDENCY  105 

we  can  help  him  shorten  this  period  of  doubt  and  make 
every  experiment  count  in  some  way  toward  his  greater 
economic  security  and  larger  service. 

Some  of  the  psychologists  are  talking  about  character 
tests,  and  though  these  are  yet  to  be  perfected  we  find 
practical  workers  attempting  something  similar;  for 
example,  witness  our  Employment  Department  at  the 
West  Side  New  York  Association,  putting  all  the  boy 
applicants  for  jobs  through  the  charting  process  of  the 
Christian  Citizenship  Training  Program.  The  Engineer- 
ing Magazine  has  issued  an  interesting  cataloguing  of 
personal  likes  and  dislikes  which  they  term  a  Human 
Interest  Test.  All  these  attempts  point  the  way  toward 
a  future  classification  and  measurement  of  human  char- 
acter, ability,  and  temperament  which  shall  touch  emo- 
tion and  volition  as  well  as  abstract  intelligence.  It  is 
an  effort,  crude  as  yet,  to  locate  life  urge  and  propulsion, 
to  sense  the  drive  or  direction  of  a  person's  life,  in  time 
to  be  of  some  practical  help  in  getting  them  ready. 

Professor  Thorndike  of  Columbia  is  quoted  as  saying : 

"There  are  three  different  kinds  of  intelligence:  (1) 
Mechanical;  (2)  Social;  and  (3)  Abstract  intelligence. 
Mechanical  intelligence  is  involved  in  dealing  with 
things;  social  intelligence  is  involved  in  dealing  with 
other  persons;  and  abstract  intelligence  is  involved  in 
dealing  with  the  relations  between  ideas.  Most  of  our 
intelligence  tests  deal  in  large  part  with  words  and  ideas 
and  are  therefore  weighted  in  favor  of  abstract  intelli- 
gence. Some  of  the  tests  are  fairly  adequate  for 
mechanical  intelligence,  but  no  good  tests  have  been 
devised  for  social  intelligence  and  there  are  individuals 
M'hose  experience  and  intelligence  are  predominantly 
social  or  mechanical." 

Wherever  we  touch  the  question  of  tests  for  general 
intelligence  and  vocational  fitness  we  meet  the  same 
message — we  should  not  ignore  the  present  tests,  where 


106  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

we  use  them  we  should  always  have  men  thoroughly- 
skilled  in  giving  them — and  at  this  stage  of  their  devel- 
opment we  should  not  be  led  into  accepting  their  results 
too  mechanically  or  as  rendering  a  final  judgment  with 
reference  to  normal  boys.  When  we  come  across  boys 
who  are  tested  by  skilled  psychologists  as  feeble-minded, 
or  on  the  other  hand  as  boys  of  superior  mental  powers, 
we  are  then  in  a  field  where  tests  have  long  since  proved 
their  accuracy.* 

But  with  all  the  boys  between  these  limits  or  in  dealing 
as  we  usually  do  with  boys  who  have  not  been  given 
mental  tests,  we  must  use  the  more  general  facts,  evident 
interests,  and  past  experience  of  boys  and  the  best  judg- 
ment of  their  adult  friends  in  helping  them  locate  what 
we  have  chosen  to  call  in  this  chapter  vocational 
tendency. 

*  Helpful  reference  books  on  this  subject  are :  ' '  Vocational  Psy- 
chology ' ' — HollingTvorth,  * '  Measurement  of  Intelligence ' ' — Ter- 
man,  "Commercial  Tests" — Cody,  "Human  Efficiency  and  Levels 
of  Intelligence ' ' — Goddard. 


Chapter  IX 
THE  CHRISTIAN  ATTITUDE  IN  ALL  CALLINGS 

That  pious  aunt  who  said,  "We  had  expected  John  to 
take  up  the  Lord's  work,  but  now  he  has  decided  to  go 
into  the  soap  business, ' '  expressed  what  has  been  felt  for 
many  years  as  a  definite,  clear-cut  distinction  between 
activities  regarded  as  sacred  on  the  one  hand,  and  as 
secular  on  the  other.  Though  such  classifications  are  in 
place  for  the  sake  of  convenience,  the  Christian  emphasis 
on  the  underlying  unity  of  human  life  is  in  our  day 
leading  us  to  see  with  increasing  clearness  that  in  the 
truest  sense,  there  can  he  no  real  distinction  between 
what  we  have  heen  describing  by  the  terms  sacred  and 
secular. 

From  this  modern  point  of  view,  that  father,  himself 
a  lay  preacher  and  prominent  church  worker  in  one  of 
our  large  cities,  was  nearer  the  truth  when  he  said  to  his 
son,  a  junior  in  high  school:  "James,  in  choosing  your 
life  work,  I  want  you  to  do  so  from  the  point  of  view 
of  what  you  can  best  do  for  the  Kingdom  of  God.  If 
that  makes  a  hod-carrier  of  you,  well  and  good ;  I  want 
you  to  be  the  best  Christian  hod-carrier  in  your  com- 
munity." Any  legitimate  vocation  is  a  proper  channel 
through  which  a  boy  may  make  his  own  distinctive  con- 
tribution to  the  work  of  the  Kingdom,  provided  he  have 
the  necessary  interest,  qualifications,  and  training,  and 
can  in  that  way  render  his  largest  service.  Thus  every 
job  becomes  a  mission,  and  all  tasks  are  divine  if  per- 
formed in  the  true  Christian  spirit,  and  for  Kingdom 
ends. 


108  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

We  need,  therefore,  to  recognize  that  the  everyday 
work  of  establishing  the  Kingdom  of  God  will  be  done 
largely  by  the  business  man,  the  doctor,  farmer,  journal- 
ist, manufacturer,  and  workers  of  this  type.  A  compel- 
ling conviction,  however  it  be  brought  about,  that  engi- 
neering, or  law,  or  business,  or  agriculture,  is  the  one 
way  to  fulfill  God's  will  for  his  life,  may  indeed  be  a 
boy's  call  to  service  in  that  field — a  service  none  the  less 
Christian  even  though  it  does  not  happen  to  be  by  way 
of  the  pulpit  or  the  mission  field. 

"The  truly  Christian  merchant  sees  his  work  as  his 
service  to  the  community;  we  can  hardly  think  of  him 
as  countenancing  sharp  tricks  of  the  trade  or  as  tempting 
his  customers  into  luxurious  extravagance  and  futile 
display.  He  who  is  captured  by  Jesus'  spirit  of  service 
never  asks  himself,  'How  can  I  run  my  business  so  that 
I  will  make  more  money  at  it  than  was  ever  made  be- 
fore ? '  but,  '  How  can  I  run  my  business  so  that,  while  it 
provides  me  an  honest  living,  I  can  make  it  serve  the 
community  better  than  such  a  business  has  ever  served 
the  community  before?'  " 

The  Christian  attitude  toward  life  work  is  so  well  and 
plainly  put  in  an  address  by  Percy  B.  Wightman,  D.  D., 
that  we  present  herewith  excerpts  from  that  statement, 
partly  to  furnish  the  leader  of  boys  illustrative  material 
for  his  talks  to  and  interviews  with  boys. 

"Christ  is  the  king  of  the  whole  world,  king  of  our 
nation,  our  homes,  our  literature,  our  trade,  king  of 
every  province  of  the  life  of  man.  He  is  to  rule  at  our 
dining  tables  and  over  our  sitting  rooms,  in  the  school- 
room, in  the  workshop  and  kitchen,  in  the  counting  house 
and  office  wherever  Christian  men  are  wont  to  go  and 
whatever  do.  To  serve  Him  as  a  loyal  subject  is  not  to 
give  a  fragment  of  our  time  as  in  evening  prayer  at  our 
bedsides  at  night ;  or  the  morning  worship  on  the  Sab- 
bath day  in  the  sanctuary — an  hour  here  and  an  hour 


THE  CHEISTIAN  ATTITUDE  IN  ALL  CALLINGS     109 

there;  but  all  life  is  His,  and  all  time  is  His.  And 
whether  we  sweep  the  house,  or  paint  it  on  the  outside, 
whether  we  read  books  or  write  them,  whether  we  work 
with  hand  or  brain,  in  public  and  in  private  life — what- 
ever our  hands  or  minds  find  to  do,  it  is  to  be  done  unto 
the  Lord. 

'  *  When  the  Lord  calls  a  man  into  discipleship  does  he 
have  to  leave  his  nets  and  boats  as  did  the  first  of  His 
followers?  Is  the  Christian  life  a  summons  from  the 
profession  of  law  you  have  chosen  or  some  other  task 
you  have  learned  to  do?  Must  every  one  turn  minister 
and  missionary  to  whom  God  reveals  His  love?  Let  me 
furnish  a  concrete  example.  Here  is  a  young  man  with 
a  talent  for  art.  He  is  suddenly  arrested  by  the  convic- 
tion that  like  other  men  he  is  a  sinner  before  God,  and 
that  to  remain  so  is  to  invite  his  own  destruction. 
Finally,  through  the  operation  of  the  Spirit  during 
which  he  seeks  pardon  and  repentance,  his  life  is  flooded 
with  the  joy  of  a  new  man  in  Christ  Jesus.  Now,  should 
he  give  up  his  art  ?  Not  unless  the  hand  of  the  Lord  has 
anointed  him  into  the  ministry  of  His  Son.  He  is  to 
remember  that  in  the  distribution  of  gifts  God  has 
singled  him  out  by  his  endowments  for  this  special  work. 
Need  he  think  that  art  is  alien  to  the  religious  life  ?  Why 
should  he?  Christ  is  to  be  crowned  with  many  crowns. 
Let  him  give  to  the  Lord  the  best  he  can  render,  for  he 
can  praise  in  color  and  beauty  as  well  as  hymn  and  song. 

"It  is  not  given  to  most  of  us  to  see  large  beauty  in 
form  and  nature.  Let  him  turn  to  his  brush  and  portray 
on  canvas  the  loveliness  he  sees  in  brook  and  glen,  the 
mountains  and  sea.  Be  a  minister  of  the  Lord  in  bring- 
ing to  those  who  visit  the  gallery  a  message  of  beauty  and 
color,  and  so  interpret  for  us  God's  book  of  the  out-door 
world. 

* '  And  what  a  mission  the  artist  has  for  city  people ! 
Look  at  the  canvases  in  our  galleries — the  harvest  field, 


110  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

the  sea,  the  mountains,  places  at  home  and  abroad, 
"Western  and  Eastern  life.  These  caught  by  the  keen  and 
appreciative  eye  of  the  artist  are  given  us  to  enjoy.  It 
has  been  asked,  'Is  not  a  childless  home  more  cheerful 
where  on  the  wall  hangs  a  picture  of  a  May  day,  with 
boys  and  girls  in  festive  dress,  dancing  and  rollicking  on 
the  green  ? ' 

"And  so  we  might  speak  of  music  and  illustrate  the 
same  principle  in  a  like  way.  Most  of  us  have  to  spend 
our  time  at  various  tasks,  many  of  which  are  common- 
place, of  sombre  color,  where  the  golden  tints  of  imagina- 
tion have  little  play.  We  are  busy  with  figures,  with 
cloth,  with  various  domestic  duties.  Let  us  be  thankful 
however  that  over  all  Christ  is  king — that  over  every 
occupation  He  rules.  We  are  to  place  upon  His  head 
many  crowns. 

"You  build  houses?  Mix  the  plaster  or  spread  it? 
You  fit  the  joist  or  hang  the  doors?  You  cut  the  pipe 
or  string  the  wires  ?  Christ  has  appointed  you  to  do  that 
work  well. 

' '  Years  ago  a  stone  mason  was  chiselling  the  back  side 
of  a  pinnacle  in  an  European  cathedral,  150  feet  and 
more  above  the  ground.  No  man  could  ever  see  it  unless 
he  climbed  upon  the  roof,  and  yet  he  wrought  with  as 
much  care  as  if  he  were  working  upon  an  altar  screen. 
Some  one  chided  him  for  the  unnecessary  work,  and  said 
who  will  see  it  any  way?  Being  a  Frenchman  and 
dramatic,  he  spread  out  his  arms  and  looked  up,  'God 
will  look  from  Heaven  and  see  it.'  He  wished  to  crown 
his  Lord  with  his  best  skill. 

"Is  there  anything  more  essential  than  food?  Still 
we  would  go  hungry  were  it  not  for  the  farmer,  the 
miller,  the  sailor,  employe  of  the  railroad,  and  he  who 
keeps  the  corner  store. 

"An  interesting  game  to  play  at  table  when  the  dishes 
are  being  changed,   if  active  children  sit   about  your 


THE  •CHEISTIAN  ATTITUDE  IN  ALL  CALLINGS     111 

board,  is  to  tell  the  history  of  the  different  articles  that 
are  placed  before  you.  Meat  is  from  the  West  through 
Chicago;  bread  from  the  mills  of  Minneapolis;  your 
potatoes  from  nearer  by ;  rice  from  the  South,  the  green 
beans  from  Georgia  or  thereabouts;  tea  from  Ceylon, 
coffee  from  Brazil ;  the  sugar  from  Cuba ;  the  milk  from 
one  of  the  surrounding  states,  maybe  coming  350  miles 
to  your  table ;  the  centerpiece  of  fern  originally  came 
from  the  torrid  zone;  your  pudding  of  tapioca  from 
China.  The  silver  was  originally  dug  from  the  mines  in 
Mexico ;  your  china  from  some  European  country ;  your 
linen  from  Ireland ;  your  furniture  from  Michigan ;  and 
if  you  are  fortunate  in  having  an  Oriental  rug,  it  was 
made  by  a  Persian  or  Turk,  Arab  or  Armenian.  A  thou- 
sand and  more  people  have  had  something  to  contribute 
toward  your  Sunday  dinner  table.  And  they  are  all 
helpers  of  your  joy  and  comfort.  The  farmer  and  the 
merchant,  the  sailor  and  engineer,  all  interested  in 
growing,  manufacture,  transportation,  and  distribution, 
have  done  a  part  in  sustaining  your  life  and  contribut- 
ing to  your  pleasure. 

"And  the  matter  to  be  marked  is  that  each  may  con- 
sider himself  to  be  a  helper  and  each,  if  he  will,  can  bring 
his  religion  into  his  task,  serving  not  simply  for  hire 
but  to  do  his  part  in  the  service  of  mankind.  For  the 
evidence  of  the  coming  of  the  day  John  anticipates  will 
be  that  men  and  women  will  do  their  work  as  unto  the 
Lord.  The  output  of  their  hands  and  minds  will  be  the 
best  they  can  give. 

"Christ  will  be  king — king  of  the  money  market,  and 
of  the  mercantile  world.  The  farmer  and  the  business 
man  alike  will  crown  Him  with  their  best  efforts  in  serv- 
ing their  fellows. 

"Again,  there  is  another  province  of  our  united  life 
about  which  we  have  a  great  amount  of  skepticism  as  to 
its  being  brought  under  the  sovereignty  of  our  Lord. 


112  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

I  refer  to  polities — the  public  life.  In  this  whether  it  be 
local  or  nation  wide,  it  should  be  permeated  and  ennobled 
by  the  high  purpose  of  unselfish  service. 

"It  does  test  one's  faith  to  believe  that  those  who 
occupy  public  office  shall  be  inspired  by  the  Spirit  of 
Christ;  but  when  you  come  to  think  of  it,  another  had 
asked,  'Does  it  necessitate  a  larger  degree  of  faith  than 
that  India,  China,  and  Central  Africa  shall  open  their 
doors  to  the  Christian  messenger  and  the  Gospel  he 
brings  ? ' 

"In  England  those  churches  especially,  we  are  told, 
which  receive  no  support  from  the  Government  are 
active  in  the  political  life  of  the  empire.  Some  years 
ago,  one  of  its  preachers,  after  a  campaign  in  which  we 
had  taken  a  part,  received  a  book  through  the  mail,  and 
on  the  fly  leaf  was  written,  'There  are  no  politics  in 
Heaven ;  there  is  where  your  life  should  be ;  sad,  sad  that 
it  is  otherwise.' 

' '  No  politics  in  Heaven  ?  I  suppose  not ;  but  there  are 
no  laborers  working  for  insufficient  wages,  and  on  that 
trying  to  support  a  family.  There  are  no  little  children 
roaming  the  streets  with  hereditary  diseases  running 
in  their  blood,  no  men  and  women  crippled  for  life  by 
bad  air  and  improper  food,  no  sweat  shops,  no  tenements 
as  we  know  them. 

"No  politics  in  Heaven?  That  does  not  concern  us. 
But  what  does  concern  us  is  *  Heaven  in  Politics. '  There 
is  the  need.  That  is  what  we  want,  and  that  is  what  we 
shall  have  some  day,  and  it  will  come  as  fast  as  the 
Kingdom  of  God  marches  on  to  take  possession  of  men's 
hearts  and  rule  the  purposes  of  their  lives." 

Fundamental  Life- Work  Decision. 

To  have  some  part  in  aiding  the  boy  of  our  generation 
to  see  in  any  type  of  life  work  he  may  wisely  choose  a 
chance  to  serve  God  and  one's  fellow  men,  is  at  once  a 


THE  CHEISTIAN  ATTITUDE  IN  ALL  CALLINGS     113 

service  to  the  individual  boy  and  a  contribution  to  a 
better  civilization.  With  this  hope  in  mind  our  workers 
are  increasingly,  in  conference  and  camps  and  by  the 
individual  method,  bringing  older  boys  face  to  face  with 
the  Fundamental  Life  Work  Decision  which  reads  thus : 

"I  will  live  my  life  under  God  for  others  rather  than 
for  myself,  for  the  advancement  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
rather  than  for  my  personal  success.  I  will  not  drift 
into  my  life  work  but  I  will  do  my  utmost  by  prayer, 
investigation,  meditation,  and  service  to  discover  that 
form  and  place  of  life  work  in  which  I  can  become  of 
the  largest  use  to  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

"As  I  find  it  I  will  follow  it  under  the  leadership  of 
Jesus  Christ,  wheresoever  it  take  me,  cost  what  it  may. ' ' 

Any  boy,  therefore,  who  can  understandingly  and 
solemnly  obligate  himself  to  carry  out  this  pledge,  has 
passed  the  hig  divide — has  made  one  of  the  three  most 
important  and  far-reaching  decisions  of  his  life. 


Chapter  X 
IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  FOLLOW-UP 

The  methods  adopted  to  follow  these  boys  through  to  a 
successful  conclusion  of  their  Find  Yourself  experience 
will  depend  largely  on  the  size  and  type  of  campaign. 
Whether  most  of  the  counseling  work  has  been  done  on 
one  big  interview  night  or  during  a  special  week  or  over  a 
longer  period  there  comes  a  time  in  every  campaign  when 
a  majority  of  the  first  interviews  have  been  held.  This 
of  course  is  the  point  where  the  follow-up  activities  must 
begin. 

To  make  our  study  graphic  we  will  suppose  that  on 
the  previous  evening  there  have  been  held  one  hundred 
interviews.  We  will  assume  that  twenty-five  more  boys 
had  passed  in  blanks  and  that  these  blanks  had  been 
analyzed,  but  that  for  some  reason  or  other  the  boys  were 
not  able  to  attend.  Let  us  assume  also  that  as  many  as 
twenty  other  boys  were  present  who  had  not  previously 
filled  out  blanks  but  had  been  brought  in  by  their  friends 
on  the  interview  night.  These  boys  should  properly  have 
attended  the  vocational  forum  conducted  during  the 
interview  period  and  would  have  been  given  an  oppor- 
tunity to  make  out  their  blanks  during  the  evening. 
Every  leader  would  of  course  have  his  own  personal 
predilections  about  how  he  wanted  to  proceed  from  this 
point.  But  granted  the  condition  as  stated  some  of  the 
following  steps  at  least  will  be  adapted  to  every  such 
situation. 

We  would  have  before  us  a  mass  of  blanks,  some  with 
interviewers'  reports  and  some  \\athout,  some  analyzed 


IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  FOLLOW-UP  115 

and  some  not.  Some  men  who  have  been  through  several 
campaigns  prefer  at  this  point  to  take  a  half  dozen 
ordinary  filing  folders  and  distribute  the  blanks  and 
their  accompanying  notations  somewhat  as  follows : 

Folder  1.    Blanks  which  have  not  been  analyzed. 

Here  would  be  placed  the  blanks  made  out  by  the 
twenty  boys  and  any  others  that  had  been  turned  in 
too  late  for  the  regular  committee  to  analyze. 

Folder  2.  Blanks  prepared  but  interviews  not  held. 
In  this  folder  will  go  the  blanks  of  the  twenty- 
five  boys  who  could  not  attend  the  big  interview 
session.  Some  of  these  will  have  notified  the  office, 
but  others  unfortunately  will  be  cases  whose  inter- 
views were  all  scheduled  and  the  interviewers 
present  but  the  boys  did  not  appear.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  we  do  not  ordinarily  have  many  of  these  but 
usually  there  are  a  few.  This  folder's  contents 
means  a  letter  to  each  of  the  boys,  phone  calls, 
checking  up  on  the  part  of  the  committee  of  boys, 
and  whatever  else  is  necessary  to  secure  a  definite 
appointment  with  each  one  of  these  boys  at  the  con- 
venience of  himself  and  his  appointed  interviewer. 

Folder  3.  Interviews  held  but  reports  not  turned  in. 
There  are  invariably  some  interviewers  who  pre- 
fer to  take  the  boys'  blanks  and  their  notes  to  their 
own  homes  or  offices  where  they  can  make  up  the 
report  on  each  boy  at  their  leisure.  It  is  always 
convenient  for  us  when  the  men  turn  in  their  reports 
immediately  after  each  interview  or  series  of  inter- 
views. However,  some  men  do  better  work  when 
allowed  more  time  for  their  reports ;  hence  efficiency 
requires  that  each  man  be  allowed  time  if  he  desires 
it.  A  few  phone  calls  will  generally  take  care  of 
getting  these  reports  in  properly. 

Folder  4.    Additional  interviews. 

Taking  up  the  blanks  which  are  accompanied  by 


116  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

interviewers'  reports  it  is  well  to  read  each  such 
report  carefully  to  find  out  just  what  is  the  next 
step  to  be  taken  with  the  individual  boy.  One  of  the 
immediate  matters  with  many  of  these  blanks  is  that 
of  additional  interviews  at  once.  Here  is  a  boy  who 
indicated  on  his  blank  an  interest  in  business  of 
some  kind  and  also  an  artistic  vocational  ambition. 
"We  may  have  either  sensed  business  as  his  pre- 
dominant interest  or  they  may  have  looked  equally 
strong  from  his  blank  and  a  retail  merchant  may 
have  been  his  interviewer.  We  find  from  the  mer- 
chant's report  that  the  boy's  interest  is  distinctly 
artistic  and  no  business  would  appeal  to  him  that 
did  not  have  some  artistic  angle.  The  merchant 
reports  also  that  the  boy's  fancy  runs  along  the  line 
of  interior  decorating.  That  means  that  we  must 
find  such  a  man  and  arrange  for  an  interview  with 
him  for  this  boy.  Many  similar  cases  will  arise  for 
additional  interviews  of  a  more  or  less  technical 
nature. 

A  particular  ease  of  this  sort  which  needs  careful 
handling  is  the  boy  who  seemed  by  his  blank  to  be 
greatly  interested  in  some  one  line.  However,  the 
period  of  counseling  with  an  expert  in  that  business 
reveals  clearly  either  that  the  boy  is  unfitted  for  it 
or  did  not  understand  what  was  involved.  At  any 
rate,  while  valuable  progress  has  been  made  in  locat- 
ing something  the  boy  probably  ought  not  to  under- 
take, the  boy  himself  is  left  in  a  confused  state  of 
mind.  What  he  needs  is  a  general  counselor  of 
broad  knowledge  and  fine  sympathies  to  go  carefully 
into  the  whole  matter  with  him  and  help  him 
make  a  start  at  least  in  discovering  what  are  pri- 
mary and  what  secondary  in  his  work  interests.  All 
such  boys  need  second  interviews,  and  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  time  element  here  is  very 
important.  Speed  is  necessary  in  maintaining  the 
boy's  interest  and  in  some  cases  to  keep  him  from 
becoming  unnecessarily  discouraged. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  FOLLOW-UP  117 

Folder  5.    Moral  and  religious  problems. 

Every  campaign  reveals  some  moral,  religious,  or 
personal  problem  which  has  a  relation  both  to  the 
boy's  future  career  and  the  present  character-build- 
ing conditions  of  his  life.  This  may  have  been  evi- 
dent in  the  blank,  or  some  secretary  or  club  leader 
may  know  it.  However,  it  has  seemed  wise  to  have 
the  boy's  first  interview  one  that  related  to  his  voca- 
tional choice.  He  can  now  be  assigned  to  another 
interviewer  who  will  discuss  in  a  friendly  way  the 
vocational  matter  and  the  results  of  his  previous 
interview.  But  he  will  proceed  from  that  point  to 
go  into  the  moral  or  religious  or  home  difficulty,  as 
the  case  may  be,  and  while  avoiding  anything  like 
prying  into  the  boy's  affairs,  offer  help  and  sugges- 
tions about  ways  in  which  other  boys  and  men  have 
fought  their  w^ay  through  in  this  or  similar  diffi- 
culties to  conquering  and  successful  lives.  We  have 
many  men  connected  with  our  Associations  who  give 
this  character-building  work  in  interviews  with 
great  skill,  and  acceptability  on  the  part  of  the  boys. 
Frequently  the  same  man  who  takes  up  the  problems 
and  possibilities  of  a  trade  or  profession  can  go  on 
to  these  more  intimate  problems ;  sometimes  however 
it  is  necessarily  a  different  man. 
Folder  6.    Cases  that  need  action. 

Here  is  a  boy  who  knows  what  he  wants  to  do  and 
evidently  has  the  ability  for  it,  but  he  must  have 
a  certain  type  of  educational  course,  or  it  may  be 
that  he  needs  to  change  his  position  and  secure 
immediately  a  place  in  another  line  of  work ;  possibly 
he  needs  financial  backing  for  his  education  or  influ- 
ence in  securing  the  special  position.  This  is  a 
matter  for  someone  close  to  the  boy,  secretary  or 
club  leader  perhaps,  to  arrange  with  some  man  con- 
nected with  the  campaign  who  will  be  both  intelli- 
gent as  to  what  can  be  done  and  sympathetic  with 
the  whole  enterprise.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  are 
some  quite  remarkable  stories  growing  out  of  these 


118  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

campaigns  where  great  turning  points  in  boys'  lives 
were  successfully  engineered  in  the  days  immedi- 
ately following  the  active  part  of  a  campaign. 

Folder  7.    General  follow-up  only. 

In  this  folder  would  be  placed  naturally  all  the 
data  in  the  cases  of  boys  who  know  very  well  what 
they  want  to  do  and  are  evidently  proceeding  logi- 
cally with  reference  to  education  and  daily  work. 
These  are  frequently  boys  we  have  known  a  long 
time  in  our  Association  classes,  clubs,  and  brother- 
hoods. These  boys  should  however  receive  all  the 
follow-up  letters,  printed  matter,  etc.,  which  from 
time  to  time  is  sent  out  to  the  boys  who  have  been 
connected  with  this  special  vocational  guidance 
effort. 

Manifestly  this  work  ought  not  to  be  done  by  any  one 
man.  In  most  campaigns  a  follow-up  committee  is  ap- 
pointed who  meet  from  time  to  time  to  review  all  blanks 
and  help  in  any  further  analyzing  that  is  necessary. 
They  arrange  to  locate  new  interviewers  whose  help  has 
been  made  evident  by  special  cases  presented.  Some- 
times this  is  the  regular  boys'  work  committee  of  an 
Association,  or  a  branch  acting  in  its  particular  part  of 
a  large  city.  In  the  Rochester,  Paterson,  and  other 
campaigns  these  committees  have  issued  folders  or  book- 
lets containing  important  information  with  reference  to 
the  local  community,  dealing  with  such  matters  as  (a) 
school  courses  of  a  vocational  nature  offered  in  public 
and  private  schools;  (b)  lists  of  books  and  other  mate- 
rial in  the  libraries  of  the  community  bearing  upon  vari- 
ous occupations  and  their  requirements,  including  also 
biography  and  other  books  of  inspirational  character; 
(c)  a  catalogue  of  the  different  occupations  open  to  boys 
in  the  community  which  offer  apprenticeship  training  of 
any  kind  or  a  future  in  the  business  or  industry  merely 
through  the  working-up  process  and  good  general  educa- 


IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  FOLLOW-UP  119 

tion;  (d)  a  list  of  men  who  are  willing  to  interview  boys 
interested  in  specified  occupations;  (e)  a  statement  is 
usually  included  to  the  effect  that  any  boy  in  the  com- 
munity can  have  this  help  from  its  leading  men  in  mak- 
ing the  great  decision  of  his  life  work. 

Final  Responsibility. 

Whereas  it  is  one  of  the  tenets  of  vocational  guidance 
that  the  boy  must  make  his  own  decision,  someone  surely 
should  be  charged  with  final  responsibility  to  aid  the 
boy  from  time  to  time  in  the  constant  decisions  which 
have  to  be  made  by  any  boy  who  is  trying  conscientiously 
to  discover  what  God  wants  him  to  do  in  the  world  and 
to  get  his  training  for  that  career.  This  will  necessarily 
be  determined  by  the  boy's  own  situation.  The  man 
who  will  agree  to  follow  him  through  may  be  a  certain 
secretary  in  the  Association,  or  in  the  case  of  a  high- 
school  boy  it  may  be  some  teacher  whom  the  boy  likes 
and  whose  influence  is  constructive  and  valuable  in  the 
life  of  this  particular  boy;  it  may  be  his  group  or  club 
leader  at  the  Association  or  the  church.  In  large  cam- 
paigns it  seems  impossible  sometimes  to  locate  anyone 
thus  related  to  the  boy,  in  which  case  a  man  who  will 
practically  be  a  hig  brother  must  be  selected  for  him. 
Usually  some  man  who  interviewed  the  boy  and  made  a 
good  impression  upon  him  is  selected.  In  several  cam- 
paigns this  has  worked  out  most  valuably,  some  men 
following  boys  through  for  more  than  a  year,  meeting 
them  constantly  and  aiding  them  in  many  important 
steps  in  their  careers.  Even  four  or  five  years  after- 
wards we  have  known  of  boys  coming  back  to  inter- 
viewers to  talk  over  further  life  decisions. 

In  this  connection  it  is  most  important  to  have  some 
secretary  or  other  leader  following  through  with  all  the 
boys  who  have  indicated  any  interest  in  Christian  call- 
ings.    The  demand  for  leadership  in  these  lines  is  so 


120  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

great  and  boys  are  so  likely  to  be  lured  by  the  possibili- 
ties of  wealth  or  fame  that  some  one  or  more  of  our  best 
leaders  should  be  assigned  to  this  productive  task  of 
helping  locate  boys  for  the  altruistic  types  of  life  work. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  both  high-school  and  em- 
ployed boys'  groups  contain  rich  material  in  that  com- 
bination of  heart  power  and  mental  ability  required  for 
these  callings.  We  should  not  over-urge  boys  in  this 
matter  but  we  should  certainly  follow  up  with  great  care 
those  who  show  ability  and  disposition  for  professional 
Christian  work. 

We  have  found  public  librarians  universally  anxious 
to  be  of  service,  some  of  them  arranging  special  refer- 
ence shelves  of  books  to  be  used  during  and  after  a 
campaign. 

Wherever  high-school  boys  are  involved  much  valuable 
follow-up  work  can  be  done  at  their  schools.  Even 
where  the  school  itself  is  not  equipped  to  proceed  as  the 
school  officials  would  like  to  do,  at  least  some  one  teacher 
can  be  found  who  will  gladly  help  in  maintaining  the 
boy's  interest,  making  adjustments  in  curriculum  where 
necessary,  and  taking  the  sort  of  continuous  interest 
essential  for  the  boy's  most  intelligent  study  of  his 
vocational  problems. 

Matters  will  arise  which  make  conferences  with  par- 
ents necessary,  and  although  some  parents  are  indifferent 
or  worse,  we  must  remember  how  long  and  deeply,  in 
most  cases,  mother  and  father  have  been  interested  in 
this  boy.  We  must  therefore  conduct  our  conference  in 
a  spirit  of  modesty  and  understanding.  What  the  boy 
wants  to  do  and  we  feel  is  proper  for  him  to  attempt 
may  seem  quite  extraordinary  to  them.  We  must  save 
the  boy  sometimes  from  going  into  an  occupation  for 
which  he  is  obviously  unfitted,  just  because  his  father 
has  a  notion  he  would  like  his  son  to  be  a  lawyer  or  a 
civil  engineer.     Wherever  a  home  problem  is  involved, 


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IMPOETANCE  OF  THE  FOLLOW-UP  121 

some  secretary  or  leader  must  accept  responsibility  and 
conduct  his  follow-up  so  as  to  help  and  not  complicate 
the  boy's  home  relationships.  Occasionally  a  home  situa- 
tion is  so  bad  that  we  are  obliged  to  aid  the  boy  in  direct 
opposition  to  a  wilful  or  selfish  desire  of  someone  at 
home.    But  these  cases  are,  happily,  rare. 

The  United  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Schools  are  proving  of  real 
value  in  these  follow-up  efforts  at  several  points.  On 
highly  technical  matters  where  we  have  wanted  specific 
information  they  have  furnished  it  gladly  and  effectively. 
Their  Life  Career  Classes,  being  started  in  certain  Asso- 
ciations, should  prove  valuable  to  mature  boys  still 
puzzled  over  their  choice,  after  several  interviews  and 
other  experiences  of  a  campaign.  To  many  employed 
boys,  working  at  irregular  hours  or  in  places  where  no 
schools  offer  the  courses  they  need,  the  correspondence 
courses  of  the  United  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Schools  should  prove 
a  great  boon. 

As  this  following-the-boy-through  in  his  study  and 
experience  proceeds,  any  simple  arrangement  of  folders 
such  as  suggested  will  give  place  naturally  to  one  large 
file  arranged  alphabetically  or  by  numbers,  where  all  the 
data  about  an  individual  boy 's  case  can  be  found  quickly, 
by  the  boy  himself,  his  teacher,  club  leader,  or  other 
person  who  has  a  right  to  the  information.  Any  portions 
of  the  data  only  proper  for  the  boy  himself  to  use  or  his 
club  leader,  for  instance,  should  be  marked  confideritial. 
This  also  connotes  such  a  file  being,  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, in  the  care  of  some  responsible  person  who 
has  been  closely  connected  with  the  campaign.  In  at 
least  one  Association  a  special  secretary  was  employed 
for  several  months  to  aid  in  the  follow-up  work.  The 
files  and  promotion  of  the  work  were  of  course  in  the 
possession  of  the  follow-up  committee  and  this  special 
secretary. 

A  full  list  of  all  the  interviewers  should  be  kept  on  file 


122  THE  FIND  YOUESELF  IDEA 

too,  with  notations  as  to  their  demonstrated  qualifica- 
tions for  various  counseling  tasks. 

Some  of  the  larger  Associations  have  also  found  it 
valuable  to  keep  lists  of  the  boys  by  occupational  choice 
and  other  classifications. 

Just  how  much  of  a  task  the  follow-up  work  may  be  in 
a  large  campaign  if  seriously  undertaken  can  be  gathered 
from  the  following  list  of  855  employed  boys'  vocational 
choices  as  expressed  in  one  of  the  campaigns  conducted 
by  the  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  Association.  Many  of  these 
boys  were  followed  up  for  months  by  counselors  and 
secretaries  who  maintained  at  least  monthly  contacts 
with  boys  who  were  not  Association  members  nor  other- 
wise under  similar  guidance. 

Vocational  Choices  of  855  Employed  Boys 

of  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Machinist 66  Plumbers  and  Steamfitters  .  7 

Toolmaker   63       Bankers    7 

Auto  Mechanic 63       Doctor    7 

Salesman    55  Factory  Superintendents  ...  7 

Mechanical  Engineer 50       Office  Clerks   6 

Electrical  Engineer   48       Pattern  Makers 6 

Business  Man 45       Architect    6 

Mechanic    37       Mail  Clerk 6 

Draftsman 36       Core  Maker 5 

Electrician 34       Optician 5 

Civil  Engineer    28  Y.   M,   C.  A.   Secretary  and 

Accountant    23           Physical  Director 5 

Shop  Foreman 22       Chaufifeur 5 

Manager 18       Newspaperman   5 

Cartoonist,    Artist,    Illustra-             Traffic  Manager 4 

tor 18       Advertising  Manager 4 

Agriculture    16       Shoemaker 4 

Stationary  Engineer   16       Cabinet  Maker   4 

EaUroad  Engineer 13       Printer 4 

Musician    13       Naval  Officer 4 

Chemist    10  Aviator  and  Aeroplane  ....  4 

Bookkeeper    9       Forester   4 

Theatricals,     Actors,     Man-             Civil  Service 4 

agers,  etc 9       Carpenter 3 

Lawyer 8       Secretary  (Office)    3 


IMPOETANCE  OF  THE  FOLLOW-UP  123 

Stock  Clerk 3  Metallurgist    1 

Manufacturer    3  Photographer    1 

Secret  Service  Agent 3  Dentist 1 

Priest 2  Chiropractor    1 

Stenographer    2  Telegraph  Operator 1 

Professional  Golfer   2  Explorer     1 

Scientist     2  Inventor 1 

Eoofer,  Tinsmith 2  Nurse    1 

Production  Engineer 1  Detective    1 

Boiler  Maker 1  Barber    1 

Welder   1  Ph.  D/ 1 

Engraver    1  

Minister     1  Total 855 

"Whenever  we  face  this  follow-up  task  with  its  great 
variety  of  problems  and  its  rich  possibilities  in  useful- 
ness and  character  development,  we  understand  better  a 
phrase  being  used  as  a  substitute  for  vocational  guidance. 
Some  leader  in  one  of  the  large  universities  first  used  it, 
so  far  as  we  know.  He  prefers  to  call  his  work  educa- 
tional guidance,  as  more  descriptive  of  a  process  which  is 
no  longer  a  quick  decision  on  anyone's  part,  but  a  series 
of  many  decisions  and  much  study.  There  is  involved 
study  of  oneself,  of  the  field  of  vocations,  and  of  the 
world's  need  in  our  generation.  Sometimes  it  is  a  long 
and  subtle  process,  this  relating  of  our  particular  life 
force  to  the  organized  work  of  the  world.  So  educational 
guidance  is  a  helpful  phrase,  pointing  as  it  does  to  the 
painstaking  nature  of  those  longer  phases  of  vocational 
guidance  which  follow  the  boy  on  through  his  period  of 
investigation  and  preparation. 

*  This  choice  was  that  of  a  remarkable  factory  boy  who  had 
done  wide  reading.  He  stated  that  it  was  his  ambition  to  write 
a  treatise  on  economics.  He  was  given  careful  guidance  and  help 
in  this  somewhat  extraordinary  ambition  and  in  others  not  quite  so 
unusual. 


Chapter  XI 

BY-PRODUCTS  AND  HELPS 

This  friendly  and  unpretentious  type  of  vocational 
guidance  practiced  in  the  boys '  work  of  the  Young  Men 's 
Christian  Association  and  in  certain  churches  and  co- 
operating agencies  has  had  at  least  three  main  products. 

(a)  Help  for  older  boys  in  the  actual  selection  of 
their  type  of  life  work. 

(b)  That  continued  interest  and  backing  in  the  several 
decisions  and  emergencies  of  this  process  pre- 
viously referred  to  as  educational  guidance. 

(c)  Character-building  results  which  show  out  in 
changed  lives,  greater  courage,  sane  confidence, 
deepened  desire,  and  determination  to  discover 
God's  will  for  one's  individual  life. 

These  are  the  definite,  expected  results  which  we  are 
happy  if  we  may  in  any  degree  attain — without  which 
we  are  disappointed.  But  there  are  results — by-prod- 
ucts, to  borrow  a  figure  from  industry — and  like  the  by- 
products of  an  intricate  modem  manufacturing  process, 
they  sometimes  rival  the  intended  product  in  value. 

New  Personalities  Enlisted. 

These  campaigns  offer  to  capable  men  an  opportunity 
for  service  with  boys  which  by  themselves  they  would 
not  think  of  undertaking.  We  are  thus  able  to  utilize 
exceedingly  high-class  talent  in  volunteer  boys'  work, 
service  from  a  type  of  man  who  can  rarely  give  time  to 
leading  a  boys'  club  or  brotherhood  or  other  regular 
engagement  in  group  work  with  boys.    Having  discovered 


BY-PEODUCTS  AND  HELPS  125 

that  they  can  perform  needed  and  useful  tasks  in  the 
uplift  and  development  of  the  boy  life  of  the  community 
by  giving  occasional  time  and  strength,  they  frequently 
become  members  of  official  boards  or  Boys'  Work  Com- 
mittees in  Y.  M.  C.  A.  's  or  churches,  greatly  strengthen- 
ing those  bodies. 

When  well  organized  and  effectively  carried  out,  such 
campaigns  interest  and  acquaint  interviewers  and  the 
community  in  general  wath  fundamental  processes  in 
boys'  work.  Through  this  general  influence  and  also 
among  the  interviewers,  men  are  brought  in  touch  with 
boys '  work  who  have  not  been  previously  attracted,  either 
because  of  temperament  or  preoccupation,  by  those  more 
playful  and  boyish  though  always  useful  phases  of  the 
present  boys'  work  movement.  These  vocational-guid- 
ance efforts  have  thus  brought  to  the  social  forces  dealing 
with  the  leisure  time  of  boys  a  thoughtfulness  of  mind 
and  again  a  contact  with  the  complicated  economic  life 
of  our  time  which  has  been  greatly  needed. 

We  have  had  many  men  able  and  willing  to  organize 
clubs,  raise  money,  and  conduct  camps  or  athletics,  but 
we  have  had  all  too  few,  either  professional  or  volunteer 
workers  with  boys,  who  have  been  sufficiently  deep 
thinkers  or  broad  enough  in  their  grasp  to  improve  the 
technique  of  boys'  work.  This  we  must  do  if  the  boys' 
work  movement  is  to  look  deeply  into  and  act  construc- 
tively with  reference  to  the  boy  life  of  our  nation.  If 
then  vocational  guidance  connotes  the  enlistment  of  able 
minds  and  men  of  affairs  in  something  besides  the  ever- 
necessary  money-raising  projects,  a  double  contribution 
is  thereby  made  to  boys'  work  in  improved  technique  and 
variation  in  personality. 

Social  Stability. 

Another  by-product  of  vocational  guidance,  reason- 
ably well  done,  rests  in  its  contribution  to  social  stability. 


126  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

Any  educational  or  economic  adjustment  which  removes 
strain  and  calms  the  individual  mind  tends  to  destroy 
the  festering  spots  of  social  outbreak.  What  little  we 
know  about  crowd  psychology  helps  us  to  understand 
that  riots  and  lynchings  are  those  occasions  when  it  be- 
comes socially  possible  for  a  group  of  individuals  to 
indulge  their  passions  with  at  least  momentary  safety. 
Under  this  temporary  group  approval,  they  find  crude 
expression  for  long-pent-up  irritations  and  antagonisms. 
Whatever  therefore  removes  or  neutralizes,  in  advance, 
states  of  mind  which  only  require  such  occasions  to  let 
loose  their  terrors,  becomes,  from  a  social  standpoint, 
beyond  purchase  price. 

Suppose,  for  example,  we  are  giving  guidance  today 
to  a  boy  with  considerable  intellectual  capacity  and  a 
distinct  craving  for  leadership,  but  he  comes  from  a  home 
where  no  one  in  the  family  has  ever  gone  beyond  the  fifth 
or  sixth  grade  in  school.  Moreover,  there  is  no  interest 
at  home  in  his  getting  an  education,  but  rather  a  desire 
to  take  advantage  of  his  earning  capacity.  If  he  does  not 
get  skilful  guiding  and  perhaps  momentary  backing,  he 
will  slip  into  whatever  offers  him  the  most  money,  per- 
haps a  common  labor  job  in  the  unskilled  phase  of  factory 
work.  Not  being  adapted  to  the  work,  he  does  not  do 
very  well  in  it  and  drifts  from  job  to  job.  He  is  irri- 
tated by  a  sense  of  inferiority,  feeling  properly  that  he 
could  do  better  things,  but  if  neither  he  nor  anyone  else 
discovers  the  way  out,  he  will  naturally  turn  in  other 
directions  for  some  method  of  relieving  this  feeling  of 
inferiority.  His  craving  for  leadership  turns  him  toward 
the  organization  of  a  gang  of  boys.  One  can  easily  make 
up  for  himself  the  rest  of  the  story,  encounters  with  the 
police,  arrest,  unfortunate  contacts  with  harsh  and  un- 
sympathetic types  of  personality  being  his  fate  either 
at  jail  or  reform  school,  release,  with  craving  for  revenge 
and  growing  antagonism  against  society.    The  first  strike 


BY-PEODUCTS  AND  HELPS  127 

or  riot  or  disturbed  social  condition  of  any  kind  gives 
this  young  man  an  opportunity  to  utilize  ammunition 
which  he  has  been  storing  in  his  mind  and  heart  for 
many  a  year.  One  has  only  to  follow  the  newspapers  to 
become  conscious  of  the  large  number  of  times  when  the 
first  rock  was  thrown,  or  the  first  pistol  discharged,  by 
some  youth  who  was  in  no  way  connected  with  the  origin 
of  the  social  difficulty. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  this  young  man  is  shown  the 
possibilities  of  securing  education,  is  helped  to  under- 
stand what  his  type  of  ability  is,  his  leadership  craving 
satisfied  by  legitimate  prominence  among  other  boys  in 
thoroughly  constructive  activities,  seeing  constantly  the 
way  up  and  out,  he  becomes  a  force  for  social  health 
rather  than  social  outbreak. 

This  is  by  no  means  an  argument  for  that  kind  of 
social  work  which  smooths  the  animal  the  right  way  of 
the  hair,  that  attempts  to  lull  smoldering  passion,  only 
to  have  it  break  out  later  with  renewed  force.  But  voca- 
tional guidance  certainly  has  power  to  give  what  might 
be  called  expression-opportunity,  not  merely  in  the 
economic  realm  but  in  all  the  main  strivings  of  mankind 
— for  life  itself,  for  love  and  activity.  Just  note  some 
of  the  instinct  cravings  related  to  a  boy's  future  voca- 
tion, first,  self-preservation,  the  bread  and  butter  aspect ; 
second,  achievement,  the  longing  to  use  one's  powers; 
third,  sex,  so  closely  related  to  the  provision  for  a  home 
and,  undoubtedly,  involved  in  his  daring  or  not  daring 
to  ask  the  girl  he  wants  to  be  his  wife ;  fourth,  parental, 
different  from  (3),  related  to  the  projection  of  his  mind 
into  the  future  with  confidence ;  fifth,  acquisition,  desire 
to  own  something  and  use  it  for  oneself  and  one's  inti- 
mates. The  list  could  be  greatly  prolonged  but  it  is  easy 
to  perceive  how  every  one  of  these  instincts  finds  splendid 
expression  on  constructive  lines  if  a  logical  vocational 


128  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

choice  is  made,  training  secured,  and  proper  vocational 
ideals  absorbed  in  youth. 

If  a  thousand  boys  or  a  million  could  be  given  some 
such  patient,  friendly  type  of  vocational  guidance  as  has 
been  described,  there  would  seem  to  be  small  question 
but  that  to  just  such  degree  the  social  stability  of  the 
nation  could  be  augmented. 

Helps  of  Various  Kinds. 

No  attempt  is  made  here  to  give  either  a  complete  or 
even  a  representative  list  of  books  on  the  subject  of 
vocational  guidance.  Such  a  list  is  available,  prepared 
by  Frederick  J.  Allen  of  Harvard  University  and  noted 
below.  We  do  offer,  however,  what  we  believe  to  be  a 
helpful  list  of  books  and  other  material  for  those  workers 
with  boys  who  desire  to  keep  informed  and  have  at  hand 
useful  material  for  themselves,  for  interviewers,  and  for 
boys. 

Some  of  the  earlier  books  to  be  reckoned  in  the  present 
stage  of  vocational  interest  in  this  country  would 
include : 

' '  Choosing  a  Vocation ' ' — Parsons. 

"The  Vocational  Guidance  of  Youth" — Bloomfield. 

Pamphlets  of  the  Boston  Bureau  descriptive  of  vari- 
ous occupations.  (No  longer  for  sale  but  avail- 
able in  many  libraries.) 

Following  somewhat  later  and  related  closely  to  the 
problem  as  it  is  today,  would  be : 

"Vocational  and  Moral  Guidance" — Jesse  B.  Davis. 
"Profitable  Vocations  for  Boys" — E.  W.  Weaver. 
"Youth,  School  and  Vocation" — Meyer  Bloomfield. 
"Vocational  Guidance  for  the  Professions" — E.  T. 

Brewster. 
"Occupations" — Gowin  and  Wheatley. 
"Business  Employments" — Frederick  J.  Allen. 
"Vocational  Psychology" — H.  L.  Hollingworth. 


BY-PEODUCTS  AND  HELPS  129 

"Vocations,"  Edited  by  Wm.  DeWitt  Hyde. 

A  series  of  ten  illustrated  volumes  under  such 
titles  as  The  Mechanic  Arts,  Business,  The  Pro- 
fessions, etc. 

A    series    of    Vocational    Monographs — Cleveland 
Foundation  Survey. 

A  detailed  and  practical  set  of  small  hooks  cover- 
ing groups  of  occupations  such  as  Boys  and  Girls 
in  Commercial  Work,  the  Metal  Trades,  the 
Building  Trades,  etc. 

''The  Youth  and  the  Nation"— H.  H.  Moore. 

"Commercial  Tests  and  How  to  Use  Them" — Sher- 
win  Cody. 

' '  The  Measurement  of  Intelligence ' ' — Lewis  M,  Ter- 
man. 

"Human  Efficiency  and  Levels  of  Intelligence" — 
Henry  H.  Goddard. 

"The  Vocational  Guidance  Movement" — John  M. 
Brewer. 

"The  World  of  Business  "—Father  and   Son  Li- 
brary. 

"Life  Work  Volume" — Father  and  Son  Library. 

"A  Guide  to  the  Study  of  Occupations" — Frederick 
J.  Allen. 

A  comprehensive  and  descriptive  bibliography  of 
the  present-day  literature  relating  to  vocational 
guidance. 

Other  books  related  to  the  general  problems  of  boy- 
hood or  dealing  with  types  of  boys,  which  are  useful  in 
vocational  and  character-building  work,  would  include: 

"Moral  Sanitation" — E.  R.  Groves. 

"Spirit   of   Youth    and   the    City   Streets" — Jane 

Addams. 
"Boy  Behavior"— W.  H.  Burger. 
"The  High  School  Age" — Irving  King. 
"Junior  Wage  Earners" — Mrs.  Anna  Y.  Reed. 
"Newsboy  Service" — Mrs.  Anna  Y.  Reed. 
"The  Wage  Earning  Boy" — Clarence  C.  Robinson. 


130  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

' '  Instincts  in  Industry ' ' — Ordway  Tead. 

*  *  Talks  on  Psychology  and  Life 's  Ideals ' ' — William 
James. 

* '  Training  of  the  Human  Plant ' ' — Luther  Burbank. 

"Poor  Boys  Who  Became  Famous" — Sarah  K. 
Bolton. 

"Hygiene  for  the  Worker" — Tolman  and  Guthrie. 

"Making  Life  Count" — Eugene  C.  Foster. 

"The  Will  of  God  and  a  Man's  Life  Work"— Henry 
B.  Wright. 

"Keeping  in  Condition" — H.  H.  Moore. 

"Young  Man  and  the  World" — Beveridge. 

"The  Efficient  Life"— Luther  Gulick. 

"Handbook  for  Comrades" — Christian  Citizenship 
Training  Program. 

"Manual  for  Comrade  Leaders" — Christian  Citi- 
zenship Training  Program. 

There  are  certain  other  sources  from  which  material 
of  importance  is  appearing  from  time  to  time,  with 
which  workers  should  be  familiar  if  they  hope  to  improve 
their  vocational-guidance  methods.  First  should  be  men- 
tioned the  National  Vocational  Guidance  Association,  as 
previously  noted,  a  national  federation  of  local  organiza- 
tions, each  local  unit  covering  usually  considerable  terri- 
tory outside  the  immediate  city  which  is  its  center.  Mem- 
bership in  these  organizations  is  valuable  to  the  individual 
worker  directly,  and  at  the  same  time  helps  maintain 
centers  for  the  study  of  vocational  matters.  Such  state- 
ments as  those  noted  herewith,  from  a  brief  report  on 
' '  Principles  of  Vocational  Guidance, ' '  by  Professor  John 
M.  Brewer,  then  President  of  the  National  Association, 
keeps  one  familiar  with  the  trend  of  thought  in  this 
developing  science: 

"The  fundamental  aim  of  vocational  guidance  is 
vocational  self-guidance.  .  .  .  The  child  or  adult 
except  in  extraordinary  circumstances  is  not  to  be 
conceived  of  as  a  pawn  to  be  moved  about  by  more 


BY-PEODUCTS  AND  HELPS  131 

experienced  persons,  no  matter  how  possible,  well- 
meaning,  or  expert  such  prescription  might  be. 

"Thus  vocational  guidance  becomes  also  educa- 
tional guidance,  and  the  teacher,  counselor,  and  em- 
ployment manager  furnish  the  individual  with  such 
enlightenment  as  will  make  him  more  and  more 
capable  of  managing  his  own  career. 

"From  childhood  through  the  series  of  necessary- 
vocational  decisions  to  the  status  of  an  efficient  and 
thoroughly  socialized  worker,  he  proceeds  through 
his  own  personal  choice  and  by  his  own  decisions, 
provided  at  all  stages  with  the  best  possible  guid- 
ance. 

"Vocational  training  and  education  must  be  pre- 
ceded by  vocational  guidance. 

"Vocational  guidance  has  no  quarrel  whatever 
with  cultural  subjects  in  the  curriculum.  ...  It 
aims  to  unify  and  improve  the  whole  life  of  the 
individual  in  all  its  activities.  It  insists  that  culture 
and  work  shall  be  joined  together  and  not  kept 
apart. ' ' 

These  Associations,  both  national  and  local,  are  con- 
stantly engaged  in  studies  which  include  not  only  gen- 
eral principles  such  as  those  indicated,  but  others  which 
deal  with  the  practical  problems  of  counseling,  place- 
ment, and  the  coordination  of  various  vocational-guid- 
ance efforts  within  a  given  community. 

Another  source  of  information  and  experience  is  to 
be  found  in  the  International  Committee  of  Young  Men 's 
Christian  Associations,  in  two  phases  of  its  work,  (1) 
through  the  Boys'  Division,  under  whose  auspices  this 
volume  is  issued,  and  (2)  the  United  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Schools. 
The  first  named  deals  with  the  vocational  problems  of 
older  boys,  aids  in  conducting  Find  Yourself  Cam- 
paigns, and  gathers  statistics  and  experience  from  the 
large  number  of  occasions  where  vocational  guidance 
is  done  by  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  its 


132  THE  FIND  YOUESELF  IDEA 

work  with  boys  throughout  the  world.  This  includes 
not  only  Find  Yourself  Campaigns,  but  Older  Boys' 
Conferences,  Training  Camps,  Life  Work  Conferences, 
Campaigns  of  Friendship,  etc.,  conducted  by  state  com- 
mittees and  local  Associations.  The  Boys'  Division  pre- 
pares Analysis  Blanks,*  Interviewer's  Report  Sheets, 
pamphlet  literature,  and  makes  analyses  of  sample 
blanks  from  local  Associations. 

The  second  named,  United  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Schools,  offers 
at  the  moment  these  four  lines  of  help : 

1.  A  syllabus  for  conducting  Life  Career  classes. 

2.  Standard  promotion  material  in  pamphlet  form 
salable  in  quantities  for  advertising  and  enrolling 
such  a  class. 

3.  A  text-book  for  students  entitled  "Building  a 
Career,"  by  E.  W.  Weaver. 

4.  A  correspondence  course  in  vocational  guidance  for 
counselors,  club  leaders,  teachers,  etc.,  thirty 
lessons. 

A  still  further  source  of  material  just  being  issued  at 
this  writing  is  the  Father  and  Son  Library,  published 
by  the  American  Educational  Society.  These  twenty 
volumes,  two  of  which  are  designed  for  fathers  and 
leaders  of  boys,  with  the  remaining  eighteen  written  for 
boys  themselves,  furnish  a  fascinating  array  of  infor- 
mation about  boys  and  facts  about  the  world  interesting 
to  boys.  Almost  every  volume  carries  vocational  mate- 
rial of  value,  but  the  two  listed  above  bear  more  directly 
on  the  choice  of  a  life  work.  It  may  be  interesting  to 
readers  of  this  volume  to  observe  the  following  ten 
principles  prepared  by  the  same  author  for  the  consump- 
tion of  boys  themselves.  These  principles  constitute  a 
chapter  in  the  Life  Work  book  of  this  series : 

*  This  material  for  sale  by  Association  Press,  347  Madison  Ave., 
New  York  City. 


BY-PEODUCTS  AND  HELPS  133 

Principles  in  Choosing  a  Life  Work. 

1.  The  Sacredness  and  Value  of  Human  Effort. 

2.  Possibility  of  Intelligent  Choice. 

3.  Reasonable  Surety  of  a  Useful  Career  for  Every 

Boy. 

4.  Self -Analysis  a  Starting  Point. 

5.  Character  Analysis  or  the  Estimate  of  Others. 

6.  Counseling  with  Men  of  Specific  Knowledge — Ex- 

perts in  Their  Line. 

7.  Discovery  of  Primary  Vocational  Tendency. 

8.  Distinguishing  Between  Vocation  and  Avocation. 

9.  Every  Boy  Making  His  Own  Decision. 
10.  Help  from  the  World's  Spiritual  Forces. 

There  have  come  to  us,  from  time  to  time,  requests  for 
outlines  of  talks  to  be  given  to  boys,  to  interviewers  and 
to  the  general  public  on  the  subject  of  vocational  guid- 
ance. Considering  the  amount  of  material  here  included 
on  general  principles  of  choosing  a  career,  on  interview- 
ing, analyzing,  discovering  vocational  tendency  and  espe- 
cially the  sources  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  it  seems 
unwise  to  arbitrarily  outline  talks  to  the  different  audi- 
ences involved.  We  feel  that  the  worker  can,  however, 
make  his  own  outlines  without  great  difficulty,  with  the 
aid  of  the  material  suggested  herein.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  most  important  function  of  a  brief  volume  like 
this  is  to  stimulate  the  mind  of  the  practical  worker  and 
reveal  to  him  the  number  of  tools  at  his  disposal. 

One  warning  especially  to  the  inexperienced  worker 
may  be  necessary.  Whenever  one  undertakes  so  impor- 
tant an  educational  effort  as  aiding  boys  in  the  selection 
of  their  life  work,  it  is  quite  necessary  to  learn  what 
other  work  of  the  same  kind  is  being  done  in  the  com- 
munity. This  is  a  day  of  cooperation,  and  whereas  such 
work  done  by  different  agencies  discovers  new  principles 
and  develops  improved  methods,  each  of  us  should  see 
to  it  that  our  work  is  properly  coordinated  with  that  of 


134  THE  FIND  YOURSELF  IDEA 

the    schools,    employment    agencies,    and    other    social 
welfare  bodies. 

Finally,  we  must  recognize  the  youthfulness  of  the 
science  of  modern  vocational  guidance  itself.  Whoever 
writes  on  the  subject  today  takes  the  painful  chance  of 
having  his  work,  at  least  in  future  years,  merely  serve 
as  an  example  of  how  badly  they  did  it  in  a  former 
generation.  However,  this  is  the  logical  path  of  applied 
science  in  any  realm.  There  is  not  a  complicated,  intri- 
cate machine  in  any  industrial  process  today  but  has  its 
counterpart  in  a  crude  mechanical  contrivance,  now 
something  to  laugh  at,  but  once  an  important  step  in  the 
development  of  a  now  highly  efficient  and  useful  me- 
chanical device.  If  the  practical  worker  can  avoid  the 
temptation  to  appear  occult  and  highly  wise,  always 
insisting  on  the  final  decision  being  made  by  the  boy 
himself,  after  every  possible  shaft  of  light  has  been 
turned  upon  his  interests,  capacities,  and  experience; 
and  if  he  and  his  associates  are  willing  to  patiently  fol- 
low the  boy  through  months  or  years  of  training  and 
adjustment — then  the  world  may  some  day  look  back 
and  see  in  his  modest  efforts  a  worth-while  link  in  the 
science  of  the  selection  of  life  work. 


im^^ 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


P^B  5     1936 


iSihi 


'^ -^    ij^i^i)(£, 


^^C  9     t94S 
FEBl  2  1950 


Form  L-9-35i??-8,'28 


SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    001015  635    4 


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